-intro-
A slow, aching cold seeped into the young woman's bones as she lay motionless on the concrete floor of the make-shift cell, fading in and out of semi-consciousness due to the opiate-laced rations her jailer's provided her with. She couldn't tell what time of day or night it was because there were no windows in the dilapidated interior of the dank maze-like dungeon. Of course, this knowledge registered slowly in the kunoichi's mind as she rarely had a lucid moment since her capture. It was obvious she was being held prisoner deep underground because aside from the lack of normal trace amounts of sunlight, she caught fleeting whiffs of raw, earthy of clay every now and again. However, the most prominent and consistent scent in the air was something wretched - an effectively terrifying combination of blood, fear, and sweat. It really was a no-win situation, if she refused to eat in an attempt to lift the chemically induced obscuration and regain her bearings, she quickly became ill as a result of the withdrawals. When she somehow managed to resist the urge to give in and fought her body over its need to continue feeding the monstrous addiction inflicted upon her, the bastards holding her hostage beat her into submission. What they didn't realize was that over the course of time that she was held captive, her body slowly built up a resistance to the dosage which they never thought to increase. Akiko continued to bid her time, knowing a chance to exact revenge on them would soon present its self. The underlings to the Southtown Boss would pay dearly for their oversight very, very soon. Come hell or high water, vengeance would continue.
-flashback-
The masked vigilantes rained terror down upon the Southtown underworld searching, nay hunting down those responsible for a most heinous crime. The yakuza never attracted her attention before now but she couldn't let these recent acts go unpunished. A band of lower level members of the Black Dragon family had gone rogue, taking young women and innocent little girls hostage, using heavy drugs as a means to force them into prostitution against their will. A white-hot rage started to fester within the young woman as she witnessed the end result of this callousness time and time again. When she had finally had enough, waiting for the King to put an end to these horrid deeds, a spirit was roused within her heart which was even more merciless than the goddess of divine retribution. Many weeks passed and she earned something of a reputation amid the Southtown locale as a result of the executions that she carried out without mercy or prejudice, though, no one knew her true identity. Those responsible for her anger learned rather quickly they had better be afraid, for she was no ordinary woman scorned. She left a literal bloodbath in the wake of an ugly, violent streak of vengeance that could be described as nothing less than multiple scenes of sheer carnage. Often enough, Akiko left her victims hanging from a balcony or lamp post with their innards dangling from gaping bellies or without their heads and spines. Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all about her brand of justice, was the mangled remnants of their sex organs. She was Merciless. She was Justice gone wrong. She was The Renegade Reaper. Capture was inevitable, expected even but what Akiko hadn't counted on was their ingenuity for torture. Her arsenal of jutsu was immediately stripped away by way of a chakra sealing technique she had never heard of, as well as, her sword and all of her other weapons. Even being a skilled martial artist was of no use eventually, once they managed to poison her with the first dose of euphoric diamorphine, the fight was unequivocally over. She knew why they didn't kill her out of revenge for their fallen comrades because - 'Why kill the hated enemy when you could break him mentally and physically under a series of strategically planned misery sessions that filled a room with a chorus of soul-rending screams that were like music to your ears?' Of course, to add insult to injury, she would later come to realize that she would suffer the same exact fate of the woman which had initially sparked her rampage. Irony really was a very cruel thing...
-present-
The kunoichi woke with a start and peered through a curtain of dirty tangled strands as the door to her cell creaked open. Her heart started to flutter as her vermilion eyes honed in on a face of the only person she had managed to keep in her memory over the seemingly endless expanse of painful, haze-filled days and nights. There was no mistaking it, she felt no lingering effects of the drug even while it was still present in her bloodstream. Though substantially weakened physically, her senses were no longer deadened to the point that she couldn't function properly. A wicked smile curled her lips though the sight of it was lost on the male leering down at her since her hair kept her face hidden from view. The male moved closer and she stilled, bracing for whatever he had in store for her this time. Her eyes narrowed as she sensed the presence of a stranger somewhere behind the male and she hesitated a moment as the one familiar to her reached out toward her. She recoiled from his touch, desperate to avoid the contact. He made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat and curled his lip in disgust. “Don't worry bitch, I don't intend to sully you, especially not in your current, stinking state. There is someone here that wants to get a better look at you. Now, c'mere you filthy urchin.” With that said he closed the distance between them and pulled her to her feet by her hair. Tears sprang in her eyes as she felt a few strands of her hair rip from her scalp. The rage was instantaneous and in one swift movement she managed to get free from his hold a moment before she snapped his neck. A soft snarl vibrated in her throat and she gave the male's lifeless body a vicious kick so hard the sickening crack of his ribs breaking could be heard loud and clear. She took a deep, cleansing breath before reaching up to smooth her tangled hair from her face. She turned toward the shadowed figure beyond the open door and smiled mirthlessly. When she spoke her voice was soft and raspy due to the fact that her vocal cords were considerably strained. “I know you think I'm like one of the many women your friends here kidnap and force into subjection but make no mistake, I will have none of it. If you aren't prepared to kill me after denying me the help that I now require to escape, then I will kill you. So, what's it going to be hmm?”