When The Dead Arise

Chapter 38

You looked towards the elevator at the sound of it opening. You had been in the middle of a spar with another Joe, some middle aged man. You liked to know who's in your vicinity at all times, something that helped you stay at ease in this place. You gasped at the sight of who it was. There stood General Hawk. Beside him, holding her hands behind her back, stood Azure.

Others saw where you were looked and turned to gaze as well. They glanced at her once and went back to what they were doing. Apparently a new Joe is nothing to get excited about.
Azure noticed you, and gave a warm smile.

"Fire!" You rushed to General Hawk as soon as he had called out your code name, leaving the electric staff behind to someone else up to a challenge.

"Yes General Hawk?" You made sure to sound polite, like Jinx had drilled into your head to do when speaking to authority. Even if you had broken that your first time here. She was not pleased.

"Make sure to show out new agent here around," he left with a smile on his face, he knew you two were friends.

You hugged Azure tightly, "Finally." you breathed into her hair. You felt as if a part of Japan was now with you.

She nodded against your shoulder, "You won't be so lonely anymore. Well, in terms of girls anyway," she chuckled. So did you.

"When do we train?" Azure asked. You remembered when you had asked the same thing. You led Azure on the tour for the remainder of the day.

"Aside from the unfamiliar trust," Azure stated as she walked with you down the hall, "It's not that bad here. Especially your team."

You didn't respond. You remembered how Azure had been with them.

"Fire!" Will hollered from a sofa, he was debriefing with the rest of the team. You stopped walking to turn to him, "Why don't you introduce your friend to us."

You didn't move. Azure elbowed you, noticing your rude behavior towards them.

"Come on," She whispered. You grudgingly walked over to them, your smile now gone. You stood before them and presented Azure. But you didn't talk, so Azure did.

"My name is Azure," she smiled and gave a wave, "Sorry. The last time we met was under," she fought for a word as she faced Rip, "Unfriendly."

"Why don't you tell us about yourself?" Wild Style spoke up, her arms crossed over her chest. She had her knees crossed very loosely, leaning back into the sofa as if her back her tired. Azure hesitated, until Will pressed that she continue.

"Alright," LGK looked up from his tablet to face Azure. Rip glanced at him, but payed him no mind. Again you wondered when they got so close, they were sitting right beside each other, nearly brushing arms.

"Well, I was born the niece to the Hard Master, the master that taught Snake Eyes before," She cleared her throat, "After my uncle died I vowed to take revenge. I spent my entire life training to be a fighter so I could one day get revenge," She paused to let the words sink in, "Once he was proved innocent I gave up on revenge, and simply trained because I knew nothing else. Then I realized I could do something helpful, become a Joe. That's what I did."

"Is fighting really the only thing you know how to do?" LGK dared to asked.

Azure thought for a moment, "I know a few languages."

"Did you ever go to school?" Will pipped up again.

Azure shook her head.

"Do you know how to do simple math?" Wild Style was really curious today.