"And that's it," finished Hiroshi. He looked around him, and stared to the different expressions his listeners had come out with. Mamoru, Rei and Makoto had a horrified expression on their faces. It really showed his story had shocked them quite a lot. Makoto looked at Reiko, still sleeping on the bed, and said: "Who would've thought such a kind girl would have such a scary past?" She seemed to have forgotten (or better said forgiven) what Reiko had done to her at the cliffs. Hiroshi continued his inspection. Usagi was by Mamoru's side, her eyes glassy. Hiroshi noticed her eyes showed pain for her friend, and surprise for the dark side of the world he had just showed her. "Poor Reiko-chan," she whispered. "she must have had a terrible experience." Finally, he turned to look at Minako, and saw she was giggling. It struck him. How could she laugh at such a serious situation? It appeared she felt his gaze, 'cause she stopped. "What's so funny?" he asked, seriously believing this girl was completely crazy.
He almost jumped out of his seat, when Minako flew from where she was sitting, and was by her side in less than a blink. She started patting his shoulder, while a mischievous look appeared on her eyes. "So, you do love her don't you?" was all she said. If the Senshi's and Mamoru's jaws had dropped just a few more millimeters, they would've touched the floor. "WHAT???" was the general cry. Hiroshi blushed up to the very end of every hair, and looked away. "That's... that's none of your business," he said, fighting the embarrassment out of him.
"Minako-chan, how can you say that in the situation we are now?" asked Makoto, trying to recover her previous seriousness. "I'm the Goddess of love and beauty, aren't I? Then, my first objective is to detect love... and let me tell you that in here, love is blazing hotter than hell!" she finished, giving Hiroshi a big and HARD hit on his back, which made him choke. Everyone fell to the floor, with a loud THUMP! their legs making weird angles with the floor, leaving only Minako standing, and laughing like a kid with a new toy.
The atmosphere of worry had vanished, up until Mamoru asked: "Hiroshi-san, but, you haven't explained us what happened back at the Aragosai cliffs. How did you know where she was, and what did you do to her neck? And what in the name of the Moon was that black thing you broke?" he finished, almost out of breath. Rei gazed at him intently, and said: "Yeah. I still don't get that part." "I haven't finished. That was only the beginning. This is how everything went on..."
Nine months passed quickly, as the intensive training of Reiko continued. Everyday was a different experience. She had being taught how to fight, how to give first-aid help, how to lie convincingly, how to hide her emotions, how to move swiftly, how to knock an enemy ten times bigger than her with one hit... and the list went on and on. Her classes were so strict that sometimes she had thought of suicide (as the only of escaping she had), but the congratulations and support of Hiroshi made this painful experience far more bearable. He hadn't been lying when he said he wouldn't be an easy teacher. He never helped her when she fell, never stopped now matter how tired she was, never ceased on telling her that if she quitted, she would be a coward.
He taught her every movement she needed to do, every special action that had to be done. Also, she taught her Biology. But not as she had being taught up to them. He showed her the nerves that moved the human body, the weak spots were everyone was vulnerable, the way her heart worked, the way she could make more energy out of a simple piece of bread, by controlling her breathing and metabolism. He showed her ways of improving her abilities, such as jumping higher, running faster, holding her breath longer... anything that could someday be useful for her. Right now, she had mastered every technique he had taught her, and was almost as good fighter as Hiroshi. But, as they say, a master never teaches everything to his student.
Physics had been an important part of her learning too. The wind speed, the gravity force, the light spectrum... those were ordinary things on their classes. She needed those to understand why she couldn't jump higher unless she moved in a certain way, or why she could easily break her neck by been careless. Math was something she had mastered even before this whole thing had started, so Hiroshi didn't put much emphasis on them, except a few tests and questions here and there, just for her knowledge not to get dusty. Chemistry was mentioned a lot. She learnt how to mix certain ordinary things and make a lethal bomb, or how to make gas out of a piece of paper... many strange yet very useful tricks were taught to her by Hiroshi, and she was more than willing to take them. She changed her way of looking at things. At first, she just looked at them as common stuff, that had no other use than the one she had been told of, but as her training progressed, she started to think of them as weapons, last-minute life saviors, distracting elements and eating resources.
Reiko had changed too. She had already accepted the idea of never seeing her family again, and had completely focused on learning. She had grown a few inches very quickly, as a result of the special training she was receiving. She had developed strength she never knew she had. Because she was still short and thin, Hiroshi had taught her special ways of defeating an enemy with her brain, not with brute power. She was an excellent student, and learnt in two days what would've taken others two months to do so.
Also, she had received training in weapon-use. The first time she had picked up a gun, she had been afraid, but soon knew how to shoot directly at the center of the aim with just a bare look. She could shoot equally straight in front, on her back or in any of both sides with any gun she laid her hands on. Every time her aim was brought forward, the humanly shaped figure had clean and perfect shoots over the heart, center of forehead and ears, if the intention was to kill; and on both shoulder-blades, hands and knees if what was needed was to paralyze.
She was taught to look and to see, to listen and to hear, to sense and to feel, things ordinary people had already forgotten how to do. Everyone was amazed at the incredible progress the small girl was doing, and in that short time, she reached the graduation day. Of course, the ceremony was quite different than one on high school. The ritual consisted in one simple task: surviving. The candidates had to pass a series of difficult tests, which put on the table their abilities. Mind-control, physical strength and emotional stability were primary needs, 'cause the test didn't last an hour, or even a day, it lasted a week. They were released into the testing area, which was a military camp, and left alone for seven days. They had to go over 100 kilometers of traps, fake exits, hiding shooters, wild animals and emotional pressure.
When that day had arrived, Hiroshi had given her a thumbs-up signal, and had then disappeared, leaving her alone with the five other contestants. They were all young, though she was by far the least-aged one. She was the only woman, she noticed, as they walked in silence into the plane that would carry them to the testing place. You didn't believe that place was in Japan, now did you? The place I'm talking about was a little province in Europe, more specifically, Russia. And it was winter. You know what I mean with that, don't you? Hell-freezing temperatures everyday, sudden and deadly snow-storms, cold at every hour... I think you get the point.
She wasn't nervous, just a little curious. Thoughts of giving up started forming in her mind. It would be so easy to suddenly fall into a trap, or just lay on the snow until she was just another pile of white ice... but something held her back, and his name was Hiroshi. He had worked so hard in training her that she couldn't bring herself to disappoint him. So, shaking her head, she threw all those silly thoughts to the back of her mind, and completely forgot about them.
Reiko had never been to Russia before, but she knew that the political relationships between Japan and that country weren't the best, and if any native man saw them, they would immediately be sent to court or prison. So, another obstacle to them: avoiding farmers and everyone who could possibly help them. The plane flight was quick, they went on a high-speed jet. On that journey, Reiko mentally prepared herself to the almost inhuman test she was going to face. When the plane set it's wheels on the landing deck, her mind was clear, and no worries troubled her. She was ready.
They walked off the plane, and were received by a middle-aged woman, with a folder on her hands. "So," she said, her eyes barely looking at them, "you're next. You know what you have to do. This will be the start. The end is about 100 kilometers away, going North. Anyone who returns here will be immediately executed, do you hear me? You've got a week to get there, no more, no less. If any of you doesn't arrive at" - she looked at her clock when she said this- "0800 hours of next Tuesday, you'll be considered dead, and left behind, understood? Now, go!" Reiko's five companions scattered quickly, and left her behind. She had no hurry. She knew better than to jump blindly into whatever was expecting them out there. Not caring about the strange look she received from the woman, she looked around.
They were on a deserted area, and as far as she could see, the landscape was pretty harsh. In front of her there was a forest, of old pines, covered up to the middle of their trunks with snow. The temperature was below the forty degrees minus 0, but she wasn't cold. She remembered Hiroshi's lesson on how to control her body temperature. By lightly increasing or decreasing her breathing and a few soft hits on the nerves behind her ears, she could maintain the 36 degrees necessary for her not to feel dehydration, or in this case, frostbite. Besides, the big wool and something-else-made coat they had given her was quite warm.
She scanned the forest, and her already trained eye noticed that not far enough, a metal glitter could be seen. Following it with her gaze, she classified it as a gun. Suddenly the shine disappeared, and a shot was heard. A scream followed, and she saw as the woman wrote something on her folder. The woman whispered: "One down, five to go." She understood that this was really serious, and breathed deeply before running into the forest, as fast as her legs allowed her to.
As soon as she entered it, she hid behind some bushes, and located the man hiding on top of a tree, who was very silently trying to find her. Seeing that from where he was sitting he could easily see her if she breathed too loud, she searched for another way of escaping. She knew that they must had left some help for her, because an unarmed human can't fight against the ones who've got the guns. Then, she saw it. It was a pistol, hanging from a tree branch. The problem was, if she wanted to get to it, she would have to leave her hiding spot, and ran directly in front of the sniper. She recognized this as the first test. Speed. Was she fast enough to reach the gun, shoot the guy on the tree and kill him before she was killed? Only one way to know, was what she thought.
Checking on the man once again, she picked up a small stone by her side, and threw it to the opposite way where she was. It landed on some branches, making a rustling sound. The man immediately turned towards the sound, and that was the opportunity Reiko was waiting for. She stood up as quickly as lightning, and ran to the gun. She grabbed it, and barely checking on the aim, pulled the trigger. The man on the tree was caught in mid turn, as the PAINT? hit him on his shoulder and splashed his face.
Reiko looked amazed at the gun she was holding, then to the man, and again to the gun. Yes, it was loaded with paint. Yellow one, as it is. She looked at the man again, and saw him smiling, and giving her a thumbs up sign. She understood. She had passed the first test. But, there was no time to feel happy. She still had many more to go. Leaving the useless gun on the floor, she ran to the North, were many other dangers were expecting her...
"Wow" was what Hiroshi heard as he stopped. He looked to the people in front of him, and saw then intrigued. "And? What happened next?" asked Usagi, enchanted by the story as if it was a fairy tale. Hiroshi smiled, and said: "Well, I don't want to bother you with the details, but here's a summary. She managed to get through all the shooters, without receiving any hit. But, a wild mountain tiger caused some problems, and she got some very bad cuts on her side. She kept going though, and evaded all the traps that had being set, but one, which made her receive a bullet on her shoulder. Those were the worse wounds she received. She arrived at 0400 hours of Tuesday at the finish, very bad bruised but nothing serious. She and only one other guy were the ones who survived. And so, she passed her graduation test."
"Way to go Reiko-chan!" said Rei, as she clapped her hands. "Yeah! I knew you could do it!" added Makoto, hugging her friend. Mamoru was surprised. "You mean, our friend here managed to survive seven days on the Russian snow desert, alone, with shooters, animals and bad weather behind her?" he asked, still not quite believing it. "Yes she did," said Hiroshi, that smile of pride again on his lips. "If you don't believe me, here, take a look." He stood up, walked to the bed and said: "Excuse me, Reiko." He then pulled her hospital gown back, and left her right shoulder to full view. "Here, see?" he said, signaling a faint scar on it. It was round, and the only mark that showed it was there was a little pink color on it's borders. Everyone walked closer to take a better look, and accepted what was true. Their so quiet, calm and never angry friend had survived after all.
"That was cool!" said Minako, a glint of something (maybe jealousy) in her eyes. "That should teach Artemis how to make a proper training. Never, in any year during all the time I was Sailor V did I ever face something as hard as that." Reiko moaned softly on the bed, and Hiroshi pushed them all aside. "We'd better let her sleep. She's being through a lot today, and the anesthesia of the operation is still on her system. Let's go back to where we were." They did, and the girls sat back on their chairs.
As soon as they were, Makoto said: "So, what happened next?" Hiroshi sat back too, and his eyes took a strange appearance. They seemed to be longing for those times he was telling them about... they were filled with melancholy. "That was when it all started, when the Blue Thunder entered the agency's life..."
Since that day, Reiko was accepted as one of them. She became a member, and as everyone else, was assigned to a partner. That partner was Hiroshi. They were always together, as the rules said. As she arrived to the finish of the test, she was almost fainted, but managed to make a thumbs-up sign to Hiroshi before collapsing into his arms. The blood-loss and the stress were too much. She was taken to the agency's hospital, were she remained two weeks. That was all the time she needed to be ready again. As soon as she left, she was sent to see the boss. She had never seen him before, but managed to get to his good side. She was then told his former teacher was now her partner. On the inside she was screaming in joy and happiness. She could now be with him in another aspect than simple teacher-student; now they were friends.
Their first mission together was a rather simple one. They had to retrieve some highly confidential documents from an office at the French Embassy in Tokyo. They went at night, and entered easily, but getting out was the problem. There was a silent alarm that connected directly with the police station. When they were in the middle of their searching the door burst open, and about 20 police officers were pointing their guns at them. The "FREEZE!" cry was said, and they remained still, not sure on what to do. And then, the instinct Reiko had developed while being at Russia told her what to do.
With her hands still up, she started sobbing, and even let a few tears leave her eyes: "Officers, thank God you're here. I was so scared. This man"--she pointed to the very surprised Hiroshi--"kidnapped me, and forced me to come with him. I didn't know what to do!" Her innocent face, her youth and most of all her clean and glassy eyes made the police men believe everything. "Calm down kid. It's Ok now. Just put your hands down and walk here," said one of the men, motioning for her to move closer. Reiko did, now brushing her eyes, and sobbing. She could feel Hiroshi's gaze on her back, as she slowly put her left hand inside her clothing, and took it out with a small gas bomb she carried there.
She muffled the sound of her pulling the detonator with her sobbing. She was still walking towards the police men, and the suddenly she stopped. In the back of her mind, seconds were counting. 10, 9, 8, 7.... She smiled, and threw the bomb right at the men feet. "What the hell is that?!" asked the liutenant, as the small round object rebounded right under him. 3, 2, 1, 0. As her mind reached the last number, the bomb exploded, filling the room with a thick cloud of gas. Coughs and screams were heard. She didn't stand there to see it though, she ran back, grabbed the papers and photos which were over the table, and ran to the window. Then, she noticed Hiroshi was still paralyzed with a surprised look on his eyes. "COME ON! You wanna stay and explain?" she yelled. It was enough for him to wake up, and in less than a second, he was by her side. She opened the window, and looked down. Her hair was ruffled by the wind, as she looked to the ground, 25 stories down.
"What are we going to do?" she asked to her partner, a frown over her almost always clear forehead. Hiroshi looked down, and then looked up again. "We've better go to the roof-top. It's closer." As he talked, he was crossing the window sill, and motioned her to follow. She had never been afraid of heights, and just followed him obediently. They started climbing, their hands and feet clinging to every possible support, even if it only was a thin piece of metal or an open window. The wind echoed around them, but they were experts. Below them, Reiko heard as the police men looked up through the window. "STOP!" "How do they do that?" "They can't be human" reached their ears. A faint smile spread through her lips, as she realized they truly were beyond human now. They climbed the five stories that separated them of the top, and reached the flat roof. Up there, they could see the city of Tokyo below them, with lights everywhere.
But, there was no time to be contemplating. The police surely would go up the stairs, and reach them immediately. As soon as she thought of this, she looked at the door that stood there, the only thing that interrupted the flatness of the roof. It didn't have any type of lock, but somehow they needed to close it, at least to get a bit more time to think of a way out. She looked around frantically, and her quest was fulfilled. Behind them, probably a garbage of some construction nearby, was a big, and very heavy wooden beam.
Reiko ran to it, and kneeling a bit, tried to pick it up. She grabbed it and discovered it was heavier than she had thought. "Help me!" she said to Hiroshi, a commanding tone taking over her voice. He moved swiftly, and helped her in carrying the wood beam towards the door. Pressing it firmly against it, and yanking it deeply into the floor, they blocked the opening, just as they had hoped for. And just in time, because as soon as they walked backwards, brushing a bit of sweat out of their foreheads, steps and yells were heard, and they knew the police had arrived to the stairs. The door trembled as they tried to open it. But the wood was tough and it held. But not for long, as they noticed a crack beginning to form in the middle of the beam. They had gotten some time, but it wasn't enough.
They ran to the edge of the roof, desperately trying to find a way out. There seemed to be none. The building was the higher one on it's block, and the next one was over 30 meter away. Jumping wasn't a choice. No parachutes, no exit, nothing. The frown was now evident on both of their eye-brows, as they looked at each other. "So what are we going to do?" asked Reiko, trying to make him hear her over the huffs, puffs and yells coming out behind of the closed door. "I don't know... I can only think of one way" he answered, looking straight into her eyes. "And that is?" she asked, feeling the urgency of the time, and in no mood for word games. "We'll have to fight" he said, his tone final.
"Fight? Are you out of your mind? There are about 20 of them, and we're just two!" she said, not believing he had said so. "So? This is nothing compared to what you did in Russia! Besides, it's that or risk yourself of getting Japan into deep trouble with France, not to mention the martial court we'll both get" he said, cracking his knuckles. She thought about it, and realized what he was saying was absolutely true. They had no other way. Desperate times call for desperate measures, she thought. "Alright. Let's go ´n get them" she said, grabbing her long hair and tying it into a ponytail on her back with an elastic band she always carried on her wrist. The bangs that had gotten loose with their climbing went back to behind her ears, and the two partners were ready to fight.
Knowing that the best way of winning an already lost battle was to take some advantage over their enemy, they ran to the door and climbed it swiftly, ending looking down to where all the officers would come through. They stood side by side as the door burst open when the wood bar broke under the pushes and hits of the police. About 17 men ran through the opening, and stopped dead on their tracks as they saw no one. "Where did they--?" was the only thing one of them could say before something jumped on him and quickly knocked him unconscious. Reiko had landed on him, and hit him with a karate hand-blow, while Hiroshi was busy putting two guards to sleep by using a very similar punch.
Everyone stood still for a while, until one of the remaining men yelled: "GET THEM!" Seven men turned to Reiko, trying to block any way of her escaping while at the same time unsheathing their guns. But, the girl didn't give them time. As soon as the voice reached her ears, she jumped forward, hit a guy in the stomach with her leg and punched another one with her elbow right below his chin. They were both out the game quickly. The five others were surprised and stopped moving, giving Reiko the time she needed to move closer to them, bend down, move her leg on a circling motion and make one of them fall onto other. Four down.
She turned around, and froze in middle movement. The three other police men were pointing their guns at her. "Now, girl," said one of them, "calm down and put your hands up." She knew she didn't stand a chance against a gun, so she did. She raised her hands. But, they never said anything about shutting her mouth. "Officers, you don't think on shooting me, now do you?" she said on her sexiest voice, and surprising even herself for her boldness. The men were startled, and said: "I'm sorry, girl, but you've broken several laws in here, and we're gonna have to take you back to the station. Now, take it easy. Junichi, go and check if she has any guns with her." said the man who was talking. The guy next to him nodded, and still pointing his gun at her, walked towards her. She kept smiling her most innocent grin, and waited until the police man's hand was in reach to do her next move. As quick as lighting she grabbed the armed-hand by his wrist, doubled it over and made the man do a back-leap in the air, before throwing him to another cop, smashing them both into the hard floor.
The guy who received his partner did it right in his chest, and his gun fell off his hand, disappearing from sight. Reiko was about to congratulate herself for being so smart when a thunder was heard and a sizzling sound made it's way right next to her ear. She froze again, as she understood the cop still standing wouldn't miss the next shot. "Miss," her hearing was muffled, still a bit deaf by the sound of the bullet but she could make out the words easily, "if you don't stop now, you're gonna force me to harm you." She was out of ideas. She looked back by the corner of her eye, and saw that Hiroshi had turned down five of the seven men who had attacked him, but was busy attending them, and certainly wasn't the one who could help her. So, she was going to have to get herself out of there alone.
Again, she stood with her hands over her head, looking at an angry yet very surprised cop. What was she supposed to do now? No time for bombs, and no artifact she carried would help her, save for that little knife on her upper arm, which was covered by her clothing. Breathing raggedly by weariness and a bit of fear, she frowned. She had practiced a bit with knife-throwing, but not enough for her taste. She didn't want to kill the man, he was just doing his job. But it was her life or the other one's and she made her decision. By lightly contracting her upper-arm muscle, the small yet sharp knife she carried sprang quickly into her right hand, which she immediately brought back and then forward with tremendous speed, to then let the knife fly.
Time seemed to stop, as the metal pointy weapon made it's way towards the police man. He, unconsciously, followed it's path with his gun, moving his chest to another angle. He didn't react, as it flew directly to it's aim... his heart. When the man had moved, he left his heart completely unprotected, and the knife had its target written in fire. Reiko stiffened and suppressed a scream of horror, as she saw the knife entering the man's body, and he by instinct pulled the trigger. The bullet was turned aside, and it flew endangering no one up to the star filled sky. Reiko wasn't seen anything at that point though. The only thing that she could distinguish was the look on the man's eyes as he fell to the floor, already dead. She hadn't intended to, but had made a clean and perfect shot, killing the man instantly. She gasped and her mind clouded completely.