Hello everyone.
I am back with another update.
As usual, I want to thank everyone who favorited and followed the story since the last update.
As always, if you find the story worthy as you read along. Please continue to do so.
And without further ado I hope that you all enjoy the final flashback chapter!
My Name is Naoki – Chapter Eighty-Four
In the hazy distance.
The little girl saw the silhouette of the man named Strados in a green military uniform approaching over the horizon.
His hair blew in his pitiless blue eyes while his lips began to pull into a cruel smile as he strode towards her.
And then just when the man was about to reach her.
She was swiftly torn from her phantasm by the painful sensation of the whip yet again lashing against her bleeding back.
The child sunk to her knees with her brown eyes agape in unimaginable torment while her bloodied hands hung at her hips.
Her mouth was entrenched in an expression of despair as she collapsed into a heap upon the floor.
And all she could do was stare hauntingly at the ever-present metal wall.
That only served as a constant reminder of her imprisonment.
Seven years later.
The fourteen-year-old stood rigid in hospital robes in the center of a metallic cell with her now emotionless brown eyes gazing on ahead.
And she didn't even so much as flinch when an electric pain shot down her body.
She stood unflinching even when a projectile was lobbed at her cheek.
She stared ahead unblinking with unresponsive brown eyes.
As a team of scientists watched without remorse through a monitor as they assessed the girl's progress.
"They all have their merits. But without a doubt…Subject Three is the most optimal. As you can see. She no longer responds to painful stimuli. It is my belief that once we complete the control program…that this one will make the ideal supersoldier." A voice informed his superior as they watched the girl's skin get pelted by projectile fire.
Even when her skin was torn open.
She barely even scowled as she stood straight glaring ahead.
Meanwhile in another cell.
A brown-haired girl sat alone huddled in a ball in a dark cell devoid of light.
Her golden eyes grew wide in increasing insanity as she madly pulled at her hair while screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Won't someone…please turn on the light!" Subject Twenty-One shrieked in a maddened voice with her fingers digging into her scalp while her howls echoed throughout the prison halls.
Only for no one to answer her cries as she sunk back against the wall with her fingertips still pulling into her hair.
"As for Subject Twenty-One…her power seems to be latent." The voice commented in a rigid manner as the monitor changed from one subject to the next.
Sometime several months down the line.
The now emotionless redhead sat unmoving in her cell with her cold eyes staring darkly ahead.
Only for her hardened eyes to flicker in annoyance when a voice called out to her from the opposing cell across the hall.
"How long have you been in here?" A boy with dark hair called out from where he stood while he gazed out of the small window on his cell door.
The orphan said nothing in response as she instead scowled in the direction of the boy.
"My name is Yuji…" Yuji stated offered in a frightened voice while the girl still glared at her door.
'Why did they have to go and put this fool near my cell of all places?' The nameless girl thought with her hands resting upon her knees.
"Good for you. Enjoy it while you remember it." Subject Three remarked in an unfeeling voice as she turned stare at the wall.
The boy stood with his black hair hanging down the sides of his face while he gazed out the cell window in hopes of gaining reassurance from the girl.
"Is... there any hope to get out of this place?" Yuji pondered in a voice in deep need of guidance.
He found himself shifting on his feet when there was only silence from the opposing cell.
Only to turn his head to gaze out the window in surprise to find himself gazing back at a crimson red-haired girl's strikingly callous face.
Her hard-brown eyes now gazed back at him through the tiny window while he suddenly found that he was unable to look away.
"That depends on if you can learn to keep your mouth shut." Subject Three answered in a ruthless voice while she stared back at the boy's slightly more optimistic face as he now smiled back at her.
And then she turned away with her fists clenched at her hips while she ignored the boy's call.
"Got it. I'll remember that." Yuji assured in a more uplifted voice as he turned to return to his cot.
As the girl gazed ahead with glacial brown eyes as she dropped back down into her seat.
The day will come when she escapes this purgatory.
And when she does.
Mark her words.
She will show them no mercy.
As time went on, she talked to the boy more and more.
And dare she say it. That she might have come to regard him as a friend.
She sat in her cell with her brown eyes gazing ahead while quietly she listened to the boy talk.
"It was my favorite book when I was little." Yuji stated in a reminiscent voice from where he sat in his cell.
"I already gathered as much." Subject Three spoke in an icy voice with her head resting against the cell wall.
"Maybe when we get out of here you would enjoy giving it a read. You might like it." Yuji called out with just a sliver of hope in his voice while he gazed at his cell wall.
There was a moment of silence while he waited for his fellow prisoner to respond.
And just when he thought that the girl wasn't going to say anything.
He heard her voice call out to him once more.
"What is it called?" Subject Three inquired with a flicker of curiosity in her emotionless voice.
She gazed ahead with a hidden yearning in her unfeeling brown eyes.
"It's called Naoki." Yuji answered with momentary excitement in his voice while he grinned over his shoulder.
"Naoki." Subject Three whispered in a barely perceivable voice while she tightened a fist in her lap.
Indeed.
Perhaps the boy was a friend after all.
And at the very least he was someone to talk to.
That was until one fateful day that they found themselves face to face in combat.
Yuki stood opposite of the prodigy while he swallowed in intimidation as he slid his feet backwards.
While the girl gazed back with icy brown eyes that flashed with the faintest hint of conflict.
"I am sorry that it has to be this way." Subject Three stated in a machinelike voice as she sunk into a combat stance.
"As am I." Yuji replied in a grim voice as sweat dripped down his brow while the supersoldier in training gazed back at him.
"Begin." A woman's compassionless voice commanded over the speakers while the two gazed into one another's eyes.
And then not even a second later the prodigy broke into a blinding sprint towards the boy.
And then soon after that the two engaged in a bloody sword duel as they repeatedly clashed blades.
It didn't take long for Yuji to come to realize that he was outclassed.
They both knew right from the start who was the superior supersoldier candidate.
There wasn't a single candidate in all of the complex that could even begin to compare to the girl dubbed as Number Three.
The prodigy leaped towards her opponent with terrifying agility before she swiftly kicked his sword from his hand.
Clang!
The blade spun to the floor with a metallic rattle while Yuji now found himself with a sword pointing into his throat.
She now stood over him with her brown eyes gazing back down at him with the faintest margin of emotion.
As the boy and the girl stared uncomfortably back into each other's eyes while the defeated Yuji still managed to offer her a reassuring smile.
"Finish him." The unseen woman's voice ordered while the prodigy showed uncharacteristic hesitation as she clenched her fist over her blade.
"Just do it. It's okay. I won't hold it against you." Yuji stated in a voice of acceptance as he knelt gazing up into the prodigy's unusually conflicted brown eyes.
"But…you are my friend." Subject Three spoke in a low voice with her gaze never leaving the boy's sadly smiling face.
"We don't have a choice." Yuji replied bluntly while the girl gaze down at him with her brown eyes flashing in horror.
"You are wrong Yuji. There is always a choice!" Subject Three snapped with rare anger in her voice while her fists tightly gripped her sword.
"Do it Number Three! Or you will both die!" The voice commanded in a tone devoid of pity as the two teens stared hauntingly back into each other's eyes for the briefest of moments.
It was but a fleeting moment. But it felt like an eternity.
And for once the supersoldier found herself unable to bring herself to act.
The mighty warrior stood frozen with her conflicted hands gripping the hilt of her weapon.
Only for her brown eyes to widen when her threw himself onto her sword while she gazed down numbly into the boy's dying eyes.
"No! No! Yuji!" Subject Three exclaimed as she frantically dropped down over the boy with her brown eyes agape in grief while she attempted to pry her blade out.
Only for it to made the bleeding worse as her stony expression contorted into once of emotional agony.
"Y-you'll get out of here. I know you will. And you'll find your name." Yuji rasped with blood in his mouth while redhead stared down at him with uncharacteristic emotion in her brown eyes.
"Stay with me Yuji! Stay with me!"" Subject Three pleaded with her hands shaking her dying friend's slumping shoulders.
"If…you find my mother…please tell her that I love her." Yuji whispered as his eyes closed shut while he slumped in the girl's arms.
And with that the prodigy sunk to the floor with her palms holding the lifeless boy's head in her lap.
Her haunted brown eyes gazed down at her friend's deceased face with her hands tightly gripping at his limp shoulders.
Hours later.
The girl sat on her cot with her crimson red bangs hanging in her eyes while she gazed out her cell window.
Only this time the opposing cell was vacant.
She clenched her jaw as she squeezed her fists over her hips while her brown eyes grew wide with rage.
Just as she abruptly stood up as she began pacing about her cell with her hair swaying before her furious eyes.
Just before she slammed her powerful fist into the cell wall while she trembled in fury.
Thoom!
"It was…by my hand!" Subject Three snapped with uncharacteristic guilt in her cold voice while her fist lingered against the wall.
Before she pounded her fist into the metallic structure once more while her body started to become consumed in a mighty crimson aura.
Boom!
The supersoldier continued to punch the wall with great force as she shook with her hair in her eyes.
Her usual false smile vanished from her lips and instead creased into a thin line.
Before she slammed into the wall with even greater force.
Over and over again she punched the wall and never once stopping even when her fists began to bleed.
Before finally…
She panted with her eyes wide with her brown machinelike eyes taking on an even colder tint as sweat dripped down her cheek.
While she stood with her fist buried in the dented wall as she breathed heavily.
Before she slowly straightened herself with her emotionless eyes staring back into the imprint of her fist in the wall.
"I am going to kill everyone in this shithole Yuji. I swear it." Subject Three spoke in a terrifying voice as she clutched the side of her face with her furious fist.
And that was a promise that she intended to keep.
On a fateful day over the next coming months.
Sirens began to blare all throughout the prison complex as guards scrambled to fix the problem.
"What going on?!" A researcher yelled out in a fretful voice as he stood behind his fellow scientists.
"The power is shorting out!" Another scientist shouted in a distraught voice while the others gazed on in horror as they watched the lights start to flicker.
"Then fix it!" Another hollered with panic in her eyes as she watched the room turn dark.
Only for all of their eyes to widen when the camera feed for the entire prison abruptly went back.
Along with all of the electricity in the entire complex!
And just like that the researchers found themselves gazing ahead in the pitch-black room as they listened to the sound of the systems powering off.
Which was followed by an eerie silence.
"I-it's gone. The powers gone." The second researcher declared in a terrified voice as he swallowed in fright.
A shiver traveled down their spines with their sole thoughts being the potential escape of their most dangerous prisoner.
Without even so much as waiting for the order guards were immediately storming towards subject Number Three's location.
Only for all of them to freeze up in their tracks when they found themselves gazing directly at an open cell door.
As the sound of soft footsteps striding out of the cell flowed into their ears.
They all took a fearful step back when merciless brown eyes now gazed out at them through the darkened cell.
Just as the sound of broken manacles dropping to the metal floor echoed throughout the hallway.
The prodigy stood in her white robes with her crimson red hair hanging freely behind her while her piercing eyes stared back into their paling faces.
"S-she's…free." A guard stammered in a terrified voice as he gulped with his hands shakily gripping his rifle.
"I…I order you to stay back!" The head guard bellowed in an unsettled voice while the girl's callous eyes burned through his soul.
Only for a loud roar to split into the air not a moment later when the girl bellowed out a battlecry at the top of her lungs.
Just as the sound of a cacophony of gunfire erupted into the air.
All the while as the prodigy roared while sprinting forward with her bare feet sliding across the steel floor.
Before she vanished in a flicker of blinding speed while the panicked guards gazed about in the dark as they struggled to get a lock on their target.
Slam!
And not even a second later one of the guards dropped to the ground with a smashed face plate when the supersoldier's foot connected with his jaw.
The horrified soldiers reeled around as they madly fired about in a desperate bid to hit the monstrous girl.
"I am strong and you are weak!" Subject Three screamed as she leaped off the floor in a blur with her fist slamming a man savagely against the wall.
The guard slumped with blood dripping down his forehead while the shouts of his comrades rang out down the hall.
The prodigy leaped through the terrified guards as they madly fired bullet after bullet in the dark in a futile attempt to hit her.
Only for several of their own to cry out when they were shot down by their own frenzied comrades.
While the horrified guards screamed out as they were savagely cut down one by one by the rampaging prodigy.
As a tremendous crimson aura of chi shot forth from the girl's body as she howled with her hair swaying wildly behind her.
Her brown eyes were agape with an animalistic wrath as she tore straight through the screaming soldiers.
And then she slid on her bare feet through the volley of guards while they dropped to the ground with their armor crumbling as they hit the floor.
She panted with her crimson red hair sticking to her face.
Just before she broke out into a rapid run down the hallway of the massive prison complex before leaped into the next passageway.
Leaving nothing but the sounds of more screaming guards in her wake.
On the upper floor the scientists scrambled in a panic to make their way to the hidden escape pathway.
A scientist ran ahead of her fellows as she bolted down the corridor with her hazel eyes wide in fright.
Her heels clanged upon the flooring as she ran down the hall.
'Just a little bit closer!' Anna thought with relief in her eyes as she approached the end of the corridor.
Only for her blood to run cold as she immediately froze up in her tracks when she found herself gazing at the face that dreaded.
"Going somewhere…doctor?" Subject Three inquired in a machinelike voice while her blood-stained face gazed heartlessly back into the older woman's petrified eyes.
"P-please I was only f-following my superiors orders!" The researcher sputtered as she shakily backed away while the girl stalked towards her.
As the prodigy's bloodthirsty eyes never once left her pale face as the girl sauntered forward with a broken pipe in hand.
The cowering woman stumbled on her heeled shoes while she shook as the girl came to a stop standing over her terrified form.
Only for her eyes to grow widen in terror when the girl opened her other fist to reveal a small electric shock device.
"N-no! P-please d-don't! N-no!" Anna shrieked with her back against the wall while her widened eyes watched the girl's draw closer to her face.
And then an abnormally powerful fist brutally grasped a hold of her face while she sobbed as she gazed at the device lowering into her line of vision.
Just before a quiet click was heard as the device was slapped onto her forehead.
She observed in horror as the prodigy withdrew a remote from under her sleeve with a malicious smile adorning her lips.
"Let's test out your endurance…doctor." Subject Three spoke in a callous voice as she pressed down on the activation button.
And just like that the researcher's shrill screams ruptured into the air as she writhed with agonizing electric shocks pulsating throughout her entire body.
The older woman wailed as she rolled on the floor with a high voltage current washing over her while the girl smashed the remote in her clenched fist.
Before the supersoldier turned to walk away with an unnerving smile on her lips as the scientist's dying screams flowed like music into her ears.
And soon enough the sounds of the other lab staff's screams echoed ominously throughout the hallways.
One hour later.
The smoke from the underground prison fire drifted into the air while the prisoners gazed up into the evening snowing skies.
While the girl called Subject Twenty-One held her face as she abruptly began to laugh madly without reason.
Twenty-One dropped to her knees while she cackled at the top of her lungs with tears streaming down her cheeks.
As the other escapees glumly sat in silence as they gazed ahead grimly.
Elle quietly trudged forward with her amber eyes gazing around at her fellow escapees as she chewed on her lip.
Just as her saddened gaze briefly passed over the other girl's madly laughing face while the girl continued to howl in laughter.
She tried and failed to suppress the shiver that was traveling down her spine at witnessing the other girl go insane before her very eyes.
Before she turned her gaze to her childhood friend from so long ago.
The prodigy now stood gazing up into the snowing night skyline over the mountain range with her brown eyes reflectively pondering her identity.
"What…what is my name?" Subject Three muttered to herself with her hair blowing gently in the cold breeze.
As her mind raced with questions that she could not answer.
What was her name?
Who were her parents? And where were they when she needed them?
And then there's that name… Saito Sayomi.
Why…why can't she get that name out of her head?
And last but most certainly not least.
There's the face of the man that haunted her mind…Strados.
And then she clenched her fist at her hip while she narrowed her brown eyes in the form of a callous glare.
Just as she turned her gaze away from the snow-covered mountain peaks when she heard someone approaching behind her.
Only to find herself gazing back at Elle's strikingly familiar bashful face.
"Hey..." Elle spoke in a timid voice as she tried to pay no mind to the blood on the older girl's cheeks.
"What do you want?" Subject Three responded in a harsh voice while she turned to gaze down into the shorter girl's bright amber eyes.
"I…was wondering what name I should call you…" Elle trailed off as she bit her lip while the girl's brown eyes flashed in slight surprise.
"What does it matter to you if I have a name?" Subject Three questioned in a cold voice while she studied the younger girl's beaming face.
"It matters because you are my friend!" Elle chirped as she bounced on her feet while the older girl's machinelike eyes stared back at her in confusion.
Only for the prodigy to quickly turn her hardened eyes away from the younger girl's sunny face.
For some reason she found those words vastly pleasing to her ears.
"Hn. I'll let you know when I think of something." Subject Three stated with a scoff as she folded her arms over her chest only to stiffen when Elle's hand touched her arm.
"Please do!" Elle piped with natural cheer in her voice that puzzled the older girl.
The other girl regarded her with cold eyes for the briefest of moments before she turned away once more.
There was no mistaking it.
She really did meet this naïve girl a long time ago.
One week later in a supply warehouse.
A bonfire was smoldering in a barrel as the escapees stared up at their leader upon an overlooking railing while she gazed down into the burning flames.
She now wore a red shirt with baggy white pants while her pendant hung lightly over her developing chest.
And in one hand she held onto her pocket watch and she clutched an old book in her other hand.
The area was littered with stolen food and drink.
As the escaped prisoners gazed up in anticipation of what their new leader would do next.
"Have you decided on a name yet?" Elle pondered as she gazed up at the older girl while her lips curved into a smile.
"I have." Naoki answered in a confident voice with her brown eyes gazing down at the book in her hand.
It was the one that Yuji had told her about before.
It was an old Japanese fable and it had been his favorite childhood story.
It is called Naoki.
"What do we call you?" Kane inquired in a curious voice with his arms folded over his chest while the younger warrior began to walk down the staircase.
A sanguine smile now graced her lips.
The flames of the blazing fire lit her sliced up face as she gazed down into her fellow escapees admiring eyes.
Elle and Subject Twenty-One gazed up at the prodigy's face as she descended with a newfound purpose in her step.
"Call me…" Naoki trailed off in a thoughtful voice with her hardened eyes staring down at her crew while they listened in a bated silence.
There was a fleeting pause while she glanced down at the book through the corner of her eye.
Before she turned to gaze down at the faces of her fellows with a decisive smile pulling at her lips.
"Call me Naoki." Naoki declared at long last with the flames accentuating her visage while she gazed down at her awestruck crew.
There was another moment of silence as the escapees exchanged a look with one another before they gazed back up at their leader's smirking face.
"Naoki?" Subject Twenty-One asked with a grin forming on her lips while she laughed madly once more.
"Yes. My name…is Naoki." Naoki announced in a voice of boundless confidence as she stared down at her speechless crew with commanding brown eyes.
Only for her smile to grow even larger when the group of twenty something prisoners erupted into a roaring shout of approval.
The former prisoners shouted as they all thrust a fist in the air while the newly born Naoki smirked down at them.
"Naoki!" One escaped prisoner yelled out after another while the rogue supersoldier stood smiling on the staircase above them.
"Naoki…" Elle repeated in a much softer voice with a gentle smile on her lips while the large man grinned behind her.
"Naoki it is then!" Kane exclaimed with a fist above his head while he stood over the petite blonde.
"Now then…I've been thinking that we should go pay a visit to the politicians that enslaved us." Naoki remarked in a cold voice as she came to a stop on the final step gazing down at her crew.
And just like that the crew of former prisoners shouted in agreement with their fists thrust into the air.
"Let's go kill them all. How does that sound?" Naoki spoke in a glacial voice as her hard-brown eyes swept over the faces of her shouting fellows.
And with that the former prisoners yelled out their approval while Elle gulped as she shifted nervously on her feet.
Just as Naoki's callous brown eyes glanced down at her timid face while the two girls gazed back into each other's eyes.
One a pacifist and the other a vengeful killer.
Before Elle finally averted her conflicted amber eyes away from the girl's steely gaze.
The meaning of the look was all too clear to her.
It was Naoki's way of telling her that she needed to let go of her mother's pacifistic beliefs.
And thus, began the division between the two reunited childhood friends.
Several days later.
An explosion rang out into the air while smoke drifted into the skyline.
Naoki sat on a rock with a proud smirk on her lips while Elle gazed on from beside her with unease in her amber eyes.
As Katsu howled in laughter with her fists shimmering with green light.
"Did you see that!? They ran away like little cowards!" Katsu cackled with an excited grin on her lips while she watched the soldiers run away.
"Yeah. I saw that Katsu. We can do anything we want now." Naoki stated as she smirked with her elbow resting upon her knee.
Only to turn and gaze out of the corner of her eye when she took note of the way that Elle was now gazing away from them.
"Bakudan! Life is an explosion!" Katsu shouted as she wildly tossed a burning ball of green light into the air that exploded high above them.
And then she burst out into even louder laughter while Naoki still smiled in approval behind her.
Elle gazed off into the distance with uncertainty in her emotional amber eyes.
'This isn't what Mother taught me.' Elle thought with a frown forming upon her lips.
The day after that.
"What do you mean you are leaving?" Naoki questioned in a cold voice while Elle averted her eyes from her gaze.
The others gazed on in either surprise or disinterest.
In the case of Kane, it was surprise and concern.
And in Katsu's case she was now staring back at Elle with distraught golden eyes.
"What! You're leaving! Why?" Katsu cried out as she stood behind Elle with her mouth dropping open in worry.
"I'm…not like everyone else here. I don't have any powers of my own. My only talent is a paintbrush." Elle spoke in a saddened voice as she shifted on her feet while Naoki remained unconvinced by her words.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you have power. I know it." Naoki insisted as she stared hard back at Elle's disconcerted face while the younger girl gazed down at her feet.
"Yeah! And it doesn't matter if you have any power or not because you're one of us!" Katsu shouted as she grasped onto Elle's shirt while the smaller girl managed a momentary smile.
"Arigatou gozaimasu Katsu. I consider you a friend as well." Elle answered softly as Katsu gazed back at her with hopeful golden eyes.
"Does that mean that you'll stay?" Katsu pondered with rising spirits that plummeted soon after when Elle turned away once more.
"Sumimasen…but I cannot." Elle muttered with a deep frown on her lips while she avoided gazing into Katsu's downcast golden eyes.
"And where exactly are you going to go? You ran away from your only family and numerous governments are now after your head." Naoki remarked in a harsh voice as she sat with her arms folded over her chest gazing back at the younger girl's naïve face.
"I-I don't know. But even if I did have a power. I…can't take part in your plan Naoki. It's…just not me." Elle replied as she raised her eyes to gaze back into the prodigy's eerily machinelike eyes.
There was a moment of silence among the crew until the girl turned to glare back at Elle with narrowed brown eyes.
"Fine, leave then. Spineless coward. Take your foolish prattling of peace and go." Naoki spoke in a much colder voice with her cruel words provoking instantaneous hurt in Elle's sensitive amber eyes.
"A-alright. I will." Elle stated in a timid voice as she hung her head before she began to walk away while Naoki glared after her back.
Katsu stood with a conflicted expression in her eyes as she gazed between her two friends while she watched Elle depart.
"Hn. And don't expect me to come save you when you get captured again." Naoki called out with her arms crossed over her breasts while her emotionless eyes watched her childhood friend walk away.
"Take care of yourself Elle." Kane commented as he watched Elle walk past him while she briefly cast him a grateful smile.
"I will Kane. You do the same." Elle mumbled as she padded off while the girl's icy eyes never left her back.
And even though the prodigy never said it aloud.
She knew that Naoki was displeased with her decision.
About one week after that.
Reiko walked down the hall of her vacation mansion in her white robes before she came to a stop before her chamber door.
Before she turned the door knob and pushed it open.
Her domineering blue eyes gazed into the darkened room for a brief moment before she closed the door behind her.
And then soon after that she pulled out a chair with a lazy hand.
Before she plopped down onto her round bottom as she leaned back in her seat with her lips curving into a haughty smile.
And then with no warning whatsoever a crimson blur leaped out at her from the shadows while slashing a sword down at her turned back.
Only for the statuesque woman to spring from her seat with terrifying speed while she now grasped the blade between her fingertips.
As the emperor now found herself staring down at a white cloaked attacker's unseen face.
"Congratulations for making it this far. If you tell me who sent you…I might kill you quickly." Reiko spoke in an imposing voice with vapor exuding from her beautiful lips while she gazed down at her cloaked would-be assassin.
Only for the much shorter cloaked figure to leap backwards with agility that took even the mighty monarch by surprise.
The emperor stared back at the disguised assailant with her domineering blue eyes now studying the assassin's movements.
Just as the assassin slid on the floor before she broke out into a blinding run back at the intimidating superhuman emperor.
"Oh, very well. I suppose I could use some evening entertainment." Reiko purred with her lips curving into a broad smirk just as she dodged another swipe to the face.
Only to find herself blinking her blue eyes in surprise when a boot collided with her belly.
Reiko skidded back on her floor with her eyes widening once more while she continued to increase her speed.
As the cloaked fighter somehow managed to keep up with her movements!
'Impressive…this one is quite skilled! Very rarely do I have to put in this much effort!' Reiko thought with her blue eyes staring thoughtfully ahead as her cloaked attacker lunged forward once again.
And then not even a second later shreds of the white cloak fell to her chamber floor below.
The emperor now held a sword of ice in her right hand.
She now gazed on with a smile forming upon her lips as she watched half of the assassin's hood plummet to the floor below.
Only for her frigid blue eyes to widen for a final time when she caught sight of long crimson red hair.
Strikingly familiar brown eyes now gazed back at her while the prodigy elegantly landed crouched on all fours gazing up at her stunned face.
"It's…you! You are alive!" Reiko exclaimed with uncharacteristic surprise in her voice while stared down at the now teenage girl's emotionless face.
"Yes Reiko. It is me." Naoki replied as she gazed up at the older woman while she quickly recovered her composure.
Only to burst out into belly shaking laughter with her ice sword disintegrating from her hand.
She continued to laugh with a smile already returning to her lips.
"My...when I sensed a presence in my room…I never thought it would be you! To be honest I thought you died years ago that was the conclusion that I came to when I recovered your sword! But I see that came back to collect it!" Reiko announced with loud laughter as her belly shook while she placed her fists on her mighty hips.
She found herself unable to resist grinning as she watched the girl stand up with her brown eyes meeting her gaze.
"I didn't come back for the sword. It was just the first one on the rack. Nothing more. Nothing less." Naoki retorted in a stubborn voice as she sheathed her sword while she proudly gazed away when Reiko smirked from ear to ear.
"Did you hide under my bed just to get a swipe at me? You did, didn't you? I'm not going to lie to you kid. You scare me." Reiko chuckled with a smug grin on her lovely lips while she strode closer.
"I wasn't hiding under your bed. And don't call me kid. My name is Naoki." Naoki declared as she gazed at the wall while the older woman now stood over her with a growing grin on her lips.
"Naoki? As in the old Japanese fable? That's your name?" Reiko questioned in a more subdued voice with her breasts at level with the girl's stoic face.
"It's not my birth name. But it's my name now. I chose it myself." Naoki spoke as she folded her arms over her chest while she gazed up at Reiko's intrigued face.
"I see Naoki…it is then. But I have to ask…where have you been all of these years and why are you just now paying me a visit?" Reiko inquired with a finger under her chin while she took note of the machinelike gaze in the girl's brown eyes.
The girl had gained quite the thousand-yard stare since she last saw her.
Something changed in the girl since she last saw her.
But what?
"That's because I couldn't. Sometime after we went our separate ways I was captured and taken to a prison center for gifted children." Naoki announced in an eerily emotionless voice while the older woman now gazed back at her with marginally widened blue eyes.
And with that Reiko found herself spending the next five minutes listening to Naoki recall her tale.
Until she was soon gazing back at the girl with her blue eyes expressing her rare sense of amazement just after the girl finished her story.
"I escaped several weeks ago. And now I am searching for the masterminds behind its inception." Naoki concluded in a mirthless voice with her murderous brown eyes gazing at the emperor's recovering face.
"I must admit that you've surprised me Naoki. You have grown into a stark contrast from the child that I met in the rain." Reiko spoke in an impressed voice at long last with her blue eyes gazing back at the girl in increased fascination.
'I knew that she had potential but this…' The emperor thought as she watched the girl gaze back up at her with chilling brown eyes.
"I am no longer that nameless child. She died a long time ago. I came here to see what you knew…to see if you might know about the names of the individuals behind such a place." Naoki stated in a quiet voice while she peered up at the woman with an intently searching gaze.
The emperor's lips creased into a refined frown after she caught the implications behind the girl's query.
"I have many rivals who would be eager to obtain such a powerful warrior in the hopes of gaining an advantage over me. Nothing confirmed of course…but I may be able to assist you in identifying names." Reiko replied in a confident voice with her hand resting under her chin while Naoki's cold eyes glance up at her.
"If I find out that you had anything to do with this…" Naoki trailed off in a menacing voice with her obsessed eyes staring back at Reiko's scoffing face.
"Please. I have a code. I don't hurt children. I am insulted that you would even suggest that I would." Reiko huffed with her arms folded over her breasts as the prodigy rolled her eyes up at her.
"You'll have to excuse my skepticism. The amount of people that you've killed speaks otherwise." Naoki commented coolly as she turned to walk away with her cloak over her shoulders while the emperor stared after her in amusement.
"Leaving already?" Reiko pondered with a grin on her lips while she gazed at Naoki's back while the prodigy strode across her floor.
"I didn't come here to socialize with you. I have said all that I needed to say." Naoki spoke bluntly as stood by the windowsill while she turned to glance back at Reiko's smirking face.
Just as the emperor sat back down in her seat as she leaned back in her chair with her hardened blue eyes still gazing back at her.
"I am currently seeking recruits to join my elite military attack force. I would like to extend an invitation to you and Katsu for you both to join us. You should give it some thought…I promise that I will make it worth your while." Reiko purred in a charming voice with her domineering eyes staring back at the girl's emotionless face.
"I have no interest in joining your group. My will is my own and I will do things my way." Naoki responded in a soft voice while the older woman sighed as she gazed back with intelligent blue eyes.
"You are just as stubborn as you were back then. But very well…if you should change your mind…you know where to find me." Reiko remarked with a charming smile while she watched in amusement as the girl opened her window.
Just before she turned to gaze back at her for a final time with her silk curtains blowing lightly in the wind behind her.
"If you get in the way of my ambitions…I will kill you, Reiko." Naoki informed in a callous voice with her chilling brown eyes gazing back at Reiko's still smiling face.
Reiko stared on in unconcealed entertainment as her curtains flapped about in the evening breeze.
She caught a final parting glimpse of the prodigy's face.
And then just like that the girl was gone.
As the emperor reclined in her seat with her arms crossed over her breasts while a smirk grew onto her lips.
"How interesting Naoki…you truly did grow strong." Reiko spoke in a pleased voice with her chin resting upon her gloved fist.
Yes indeed.
This truly was a fascinating turn of events.
Days after that.
Naoki slipped a white combat glove over her right hand while she stared into a shop window with emotionless brown eyes.
Just before she repeated the same procedure with her other hand.
And then she wrapped a heavy white scarf around her neckline while her pendant continued to sway over her chest.
And soon after that she tied a white sash around her waistline.
She gazed back into the window of the shop with her crimson red hair flowing in the breeze behind her.
While she stared back at her reflection with a newfound expression of identity in her hardened gaze.
And she couldn't help but find herself unable to resist allowing her lips to curl into a smile.
Before she finally turned away with her tabi booted feet striding silently across the pavement while her white cloak blew gently in the wind.
Her sword hung from her hip as she gazed ahead with unmistakable purpose in her eyes.
And then not even a second later she leaped into the air leaving nothing but a crimson blur in her wake while she jumped across the rooftops.
And then later on that very same night…
A scream echoed throughout the air of a wealthy estate while a man collapsed bleeding onto the floor.
Just as a cloaked figure leaped out of an open window while the sound of footsteps came rushing around the corner.
Before the body guards burst into the room only to gaze on in horror to find their employer bleeding out before the fireplace.
"Sir!" A bodyguard exclaimed as he rushed over to kneel over the mortally wounded man.
"Find the intruder! They couldn't have gotten far!" Another man shouted out while the other quickly moved to seal off all of the exits.
"Sir…what can you tell us about your attacker?" The first bodyguard questioned in a gentle voice while he stared down at the rasping man's sweating face.
"I-I…saw a glimpse of a red flash." The mob boss croaked out with blood dripping down his chin while his guards stared down at him in bewilderment.
Just as Naoki leaped off the rooftop with a sanguine smile upon her lips as her white cloak blew in the wind behind her.
"I…am Naoki…the red assassin of death and destruction." Naoki spoke in a pleased voice with her lips pulling into a smirk.
She elegantly ran across the rooftops with her soft footsteps resounding into the air as she landed from rooftop to rooftop.
And then just like that she vanished without a trace into the night.
Meanwhile at some point in the weeks following after that.
On the top of a building armed soldiers stood on guard behind their monarch.
Reiko stared back at a man with practiced coldness in her blue eyes while she watched him turn around to face her.
His neck was tightly bandaged from a recent injury while his lips were curving into a wide smile at the sight of her.
And then he extended his hand for a handshake while she regarded him in boundless distaste.
Her strict blue eyes glanced down at his hand for a fleeting moment before she reached out to grasp onto his hand.
"Reiko. How kind of you to accept my invite." Felix greeted in a joyous voice as he shook hands with Reiko while the woman stared at him coldly.
Elle's stories were enough reason for her to despise him even before she met him.
But the way that he disrespectfully addressed her name without title only made her hate him even more.
And that was all reason that she needed to begin applying pressure to his hand.
Just as he let out a cry of slight surprise while she glared back at his still grinning face.
"Felix Turner. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear you apart limb by limb." Reiko declared in a frigid voice with a lethal smile on her beautiful lips while she crushed the man's hand.
Only for her blue eyes to take careful note of the pleased expression in the man's amber eyes.
"Because I! Have! It!" Felix announced in a victorious voice while the monarch's blue eyes now gazed back at him in surprise.
And then soon after that the older woman released the man's hand in her surprise.
She gazed back at Felix's face as the young man erupted into maddened laughter.
As her soldiers gazed on perplexed behind her.
Felix held his sides as he exploded into roaring laughter with his trench coat flapping about in the breeze.
As Reiko silently gazed on with her lordly blue eyes adopting a cunning gleam while Felix's mad laughter echoed into the air throughout the rooftops.
AN:
I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter and all of the flashback chapters that came before it.
This afterword is going to be brief but there are a few things that I want to cover.
In this chapter we got to see the ruthlessness and inhumanity of the way that the child soldier complex was run.
Children of promising talent are stripped of their names and rendered a number. We'll cover more of the how and why later on in book two.
Naoki was their ultimate soldier of sorts, and Katsu could be considered the second strongest after Naoki. But unlike Naoki, who is both power and intelligent, Katsu isn't the smartest person. But she still has a ton of power at her disposal.
As we get to see Naoki and Katsu more in the present, we'll find out more about what their power entails and how it stacks up against Azula and Zoe, as well as nonbenders such as Mai and Ty Lee.
The boy that Naoki befriended and killed, Yuji was considered to be fairly talented and powerful as well. But the people who oversaw their imprisonment didn't want to risk having too many powered individuals all at once.
So, they used Yuji as a means to break Naoki even further. But unbeknownst to them, the act of killing her friend ended up serving to motivate Naoki to seek her freedom.
We'll also touch on the fable that Yuji spoke about more later on. And in case anyone is wondering, that is just something that I created for the story.
In a way, though Naoki didn't know Yuji very long. Because he was her only interaction in all of that time, he ended up playing a key role in helping her find her new identity.
As for Katsu specifically, her intelligence was stunted significantly as a result of her trauma. As a result, she ended up becoming more of a berserker that has a habit of not thinking her actions through. This too we'll explore later on.
We also got our first glimpse of how merciless Naoki is in combat with her actions during her escape.
And it is also starting to become clear that Rieko will play a huge part in who Naoki is becoming as a person. Despite it being years since they last met, Naoki sought her out. Perhaps it was just to retrieve her sword, or maybe it was something more.
I want to state very clearly, that while it might seem like on the surface that Naoki is okay now. That she most certainly isn't. She came out of it with a great deal of power. But there is more to life than power.
Naoki has just as much soul searching to do as Elle, and Azula as well. And while it might appear on first glance that she is the perfect child soldier. As we go on, we may find out that Naoki isn't as calm on the inside as she presents herself on the outside.
And as for Rieko, we once again saw that unlike Azula and Ozai. She is perfectly capable conversing in an almost laid-back manner with the people around her.
And we're also coming to understand that Rieko has a degree of morals, and while they might be messed-up morals. They are morals all the same. As we get to know Rieko better, we'll learn that she has a code of sorts that she lives by.
And lastly, as we saw at the end of the chapter. Rieko is willing to make exceptions to her code when it benefits her.
She was completely prepared to make good on her word to Elle to punish Felix for his actions against her and other people. But all of that changed when Felix revealed that there was value in her keeping him alive.
As for what that value is, and what 'it' entails. We'll have to wait to find out.
And with that, our flashback mini arc is finally over.
Next chapter we will return to Team Azula in the present.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter eighty-five! The Masked Hunter!