The project Imperial Soldier. This was a top classified project launched by the First Emperor, roughly a thousand years ago. Launched sometime after the creation of the Teigu, its purpose was to create a super army of soldiers that could all be I fused with Teigu in their blood.

But the results of these were… disastrous to say the least. The lives that were lost during the creation of this morally questionable project were horrific. Due to that, the Emperor had no choice but to close the project, and to never be opened ever again.

That is, until recently as the current Emperor continued it with the new technology the Empire had to offer. With it, the goal of this project changed, and its purpose is a lot more awful than what it was.

What was it? Well to put it bluntly, it was created to assure the Emperor's place in the Empire and to stop the Revolutionary army and a group of assassins that they called themselves the Night Raids.

But just like when it was initially stated, the results of these were horrific as the subjects could hardly call themselves human, but the Emperor didn't give up.

After years of trying to get the perfect specimen, he finally had a successful result. A single person was able to withstand the backlash of infusing a Teigu inside someone's system, as well as enhancing any of their abilities.

With that, he became the second person to ever be able to have a Teigu infused on their blood, the first one being the Commander Esdeath.

The name of this person? Cloud Strife. The first and only Imperial Soldier of the Empire.

~ 3rd POV ~

"And this is what the mission will be about today. If all goes well, it's just a hit run mission, but we are bound to encounter some enemy forces seeing what we are dealing with."

The woman that talked was a gray haired woman with a well endowed body. Her hair was quite short, making her resemble a lot to the 'tomboy' kind of woman. She has an eye patch on her left eye, as well as a mechanical dragon-like arm as her left arm.

"So we are killing the target and returning to the base. This should be easy, I don't see why you would need Bullock here with me."

"Now, now Akame, this isn't any simple mission. If we execute this right, we might as well have our most valuable asset in this team. This ain't a simple target elimination, but a recruitment mission. If my infos are right, he should be easy to convince."

The one that was talking with the gray haired woman was Akame. She's a young girl that looks like in her late teens with long black hair. She has bangs covering her eyes most of the time and red dull looking eyes. Her expression remains emotionless as she speaks.

The person standing next to Akame was Lubbock.

Lubbock is a young boy, a bit younger than Akame, with green shoulder length hair. His hair cover his left eyes, which are red just like Akame. The boy also had red goggles on the top of his head, as he was seen standing alongside the black haired girl, listening to the grey haired woman talking.

"But if you fail to convince this person, well you know what you have to do. He's too dangerous to be kept in the hand of the Emperor, less more of the Jaegers…"

"Understood Najenda."

"Good, you two can read the report if you want before heading out. Oh and it's to no surprise that I have to tell you that but, act with discretion please."

Leaving the report on the top of her office, the grey haired girl, Najenda, left her office with a soft smile towards them, leaving both of them alone.

Lubbock looked at the direction of Akame as he flashed a smile towards her.

"Guess we'll be doing this together. I hope to impress Miss Najenda this time!!"

After saying this, Lubbock giggled to himself, as Akame walked to Najenda's desk, picking up the files.

As Lubbock was still in his own world, the girl skimmed through the files, for anything that might be useful to her, perhaps a detail that her boss forgot to mention.

At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary, that's until the name of her target was mentioned in it,.with a picture.

"..."

Her face, who usually shows no emotions, contorted to a slight shock, her eyes widening. Her hands trembled as it was holding the file, her eyes fixed on a blonde haired boy with eyes as blue as the sky. His expression remained neutral, something she remembered him of always having.

Below the image, was the undeniable proof she needed as her hands trembled even more. Her lips every slightly quivering as years threatened to come off. With a watery look, she spoke in a faint voice, hoarsed with repressed emotions.

"I-it's really you… Cloud…"

The words below the image were saying; Cloud Strife, sole survivor of the Imperial Soldier Project.

As Lubbock approached her, he saw a glimpse of her face, though he wasn't aware of what it was, he put his hand on her shoulder and spoke with a soft smile.

"Akame, you alright?"

He looked at the file and saw the boy in it. He put 1 and 1 together as he reassured her.

"Don't worry, Najenda said all we had to do was convince him. It'll be child play! I'm sure we'll get him, plus he looks like a chill guy."

Pulling her off of her own thoughts, she closed her eyes for a moment, wiping the water out of them as she nodded, putting the file back on the desk.

"You're right. We should go now, better not disappoint the boss."

"Yeah, you're right, though a punishment by Ms. Najenda doesn't sound too ba-"

Lubbock didn't have time to finish his sentence as he was lightly punch to the stomach, with Akame not saying a word as they both jumped the window, leaving the base with the poor boy still clutching his stomach.

"...I regret nothing."

~ Time Skip ~

~ Akame POV ~

How long has it been? Too much for me. But I never could have forget him, the one person I could never forget. So much has happened and yet, I don't know how I'll confront him. Will he even recognize me, the Empire could have wiped his memories along with that twisted project…

Standing over a hill, we could see the vase of the Jaegers, mercenaries working for the Empire. Looking over it, the wind of the night flows over my hair, my red eyes narrowing over the base, looking for any sign of him.

"I shouldn't be surprised that he would not be outside at this time of the day."

"Hey, who's that on the rooftop over there."

As Lubbock pointed to the backyard of their base, I could faintly see a figure moving some sort of weapon over a target. As I looked closer to it, I could see his blond hair. That hairstyle, there's no doubt…

"Yeah, that's him…"

"So, how should we proceed? Just say hello and pray that he doesn't kill us on the spot?"

"You should keep your guard up, Lubbock. Can you cover me while I try to convince our target?"

"Akame, no offense but you ain't the most talkative person. Maybe I should g-"

"I'll go. You cover me."

I didn't give him the time to reply as I jumped over a tree branch, sliding down the hill as I quietly moved, making the least noise possible.

"And they say I'm the reckless one…"

I could hear him sighed from behind. I know this was selfish, but I wasn't acting rational right now. There was so much I wanted to ask Cloud… and yet I don't know what I'll say once I'm gonna be in front of him…

But the more I approached the base, the more I felt a strange feeling. It was too weird for the base to be this empty, even at night.

Must be me, the mission is to retrieve Cloud, and if we can alarm no one, it'll be a plus for us.

Standing on a tree branch into the base, I saw him, his back facing me as he was swinging some sort of claymore. He was effortlessly swinging it, making a heavy strike with such ease. On a professional level, his technique was almost flawless…

Taking a deep breath, I could feel my heart thumping hard against my chest, a heavy sensation washed over me, looking at him. I couldn't find the words or rather, I was unable to speak due to the raw emotions I was feeling. It's been so long, why did you have to leave me like that Cloud…

And finally, after what seems like an eternity, my lips part away slightly, opening my mouth to form one word, my voice just above a whisper, my voice cracking from my feelings.

"C-Cloud…"

~ Cloud Strife POV ~

I can feel her lingering gaze again. That cold and freezing pair of eyes that is watching me at all times. Although I don't mind her, she can be quite possessive towards me at times, but it sometimes can be troublesome.

Lately, I've heard of a group called the Night Raids. A group of assassins tasked to bring peace to the Capital and put an end to the corrupted Empire. Can't say I disagree with that.

They're the one who put me in this project in the first place. I don't remember much, and even less of my past. Well most of it, since most of my memories are blurred. It must be with what the Emperor has done to me. I can't deny the strength I've gained, but at what price?

I continue to swing my Buster Sword, a claymore that was given to me ever since I survived that sickening project. Ever since then, I never let it left my side. It's weird, but I felt kinds connected to it, it was just natural for me to have it close to me.

Hitting the target again, it closed in to in a diagonally upward slash. Taking a deep breath, I put my sword back in its sheath as I heard a voice. It was feminine and very low, barely above a whisper. It was almost covered by the sound of the leaves flowing.

"C-Cloud."

I felt no murder intent or any ill intention at that. Turning my back, black hair flow to the wind with stoic red eyes, as red as the blood. Seeing her face, I didn't recognized it first, but suddenly…

"Argh!!"

A sharp pain came from my head. A ringing in my ears that was overwhelming as I clutch my head in intense pain. A buzzing sound filled my mind as a face identix as the girl in front of me, but younger.

"Cloud! Cloud! Come on, let's play together!"

Her voice was cheerful, a contrast to that bland face that was in front of me. Although I can tell that much, those memories felt… refreshing. And along with that a name that sounded so familiar, yet foreign to me. Without thinking any further, my lips moved on their own.

"Akame?"

~ 3rd POV ~

The two's eyes met and although the young Cloud had no memories of her, he could remember her face from anywhere. It was a reunion after years of them being separated, but there was no time for an emotional meeting at the moment.

From afar, Akame could see one of the soldiers from the Empire getting closer, probably on duty. Cloud, noticing this, looked towards Akame. He had already made his mind, he knew that he was on the bad side of this war.

"Let me lead, I know which areas the general doesn't supervise as often" cloud said as he picked up the buster sword and put it on his back

"Right, formalities can wait till we're out of here" akame nodded and quickly followed him as they went on their way to break out

Giggles are heard through some of the rooms of the massive building, cold and murderous in nature yet laced with a playful tone

"Bad bad cloud…if you want to play hide and seek you could've just asked~ Well, no matter…i guess we'll just have to play cat and mouses then~"

And footsteps began to echo throughout the halls, not far yet clear as a certain someone rushed through them with a sickening grin on her face

On the other side, we see cloud shiver slightly

"Are you cold?" akame asked curiously

"No, just had a bad feeling someone said my name, and if it is who i think it is we better hurry up" said cloud as he began speeding up, they were almost out of this place anyways

"Hold on, there's a tree not too far from this window, let's jump out of here now" akame pointed out to him

Cloud nodded to Akame, both jumping to a nearby tree, with Cloud being able to jump in a much longer distance than Akame, impressing her as she showed a slight smile.

"Always a show off, you haven't changed a bit."

And with that, the both of them joined Lubbock. Without asking questions, the trio fled the scene, leaving behind unnoticed guards and a pissed off general.

Her cyan eyes are as cold as winter with an expression that could only be described as utter rage. Her teeth gritted in anguish as the floor beneath her began to freeze like ice, steam from the sheer freezing sensation surrounded her giving her an even more intense view.

"Unforgivable… my precious Cloud was taken away by that… that meaningless brat. I'll find you wherever you are going my dear~ and when I do, it sure won't be pretty… but before I do that, this little girl, she'll die… slowly~... and painfully~"

A sickening giggle was heard in the cold night, a superficial cold as ice slowly spread on the ground of the woman in question, as she retreated inside the castle, doing who knows what…