Flowery Iris part 2

Felix was flat on the ground, gazing through the rifle's scope. His focus narrowed on the bullseye at the farthest edge of the training field.

Bang — A sharp sound echoed across the range, kicking up a small cloud of dust as he hit a near perfect shot on the target.

"That red power earlier… " He muttered to himself, the thought lingering as the dust cloud lifted.

Two images flashed in his mind, one of his adoptive sister smiling at him. The other, the silhouette of a large man with a mechanical arm. Two individuals looking at him with fiery eyes.

"But… their eyes weren't orange…"

He recollected his previous interaction with the old professor, the memories still very fresh in his mind.

"I thought the Implementation was shut down?" He asked.

"Merely postponed, but it resumed last year after receiving funding. Hence why I have been gone for so long. We have just went through another batch." The professor answered.

"Wait… Could the professor have made another breakthrough?" He muttered curiously while reloading the rifle.

After reflecting on the memory, his gaze returned to the red center of his target, which was riddled with holes. He thought about the visitor's eyes. The redness of it. The depth of the crimson glow.

Footsteps crunched behind him as he pulled the trigger once again. Another near-perfect bullseye.

 "I didn't expect you to come to the field just to visit me." Felix greeted the figure standing behind him. "Perfect timing, Professor."

A familiar, scruffy voice answered, "But, of course. Unless I have to walk through a war zone, there is no reason not to see you when I have the time. I heard that you had an encounter with an Elite Agent." 

"Yeah."

Professor Tetsuya scratched his beard, "So, how was the taste your first real battle?"

"Did you not read my report?"

"Not yet, though I would like to hear it directly from you while I can. It was against Harbinger, correct? I've heard his skills rivaled those of the top ten." 

A sudden flash of the events replayed in his mind. The bullet between his teeth, the explosive, Maria's blood pouring down his face, the blue sphere burning around his body.

"Well, he was just the slightest bit harder than my spars with sis." Felix scoffed.

"Seeing as you were working with young Maria, I suppose it wasn't so bad." The professor chuckled.

"She was definitely something else." Felix reloaded the gun. "She must be one of your better results."

 "Truthfully, I was not present during the tragedy of her batch." The professor admitted with a low grumble.

"Right… sole survivor."

"When I said she was the only survivor of her batch, I meant that literally. The subject that came after her apparently couldn't handle the second stage serum, their body cracked apart, and had apparently exploded… According to young Maria, the meat chunks shot through the doctor's heads."

And what I had to go through just for that… I'm not sure I'm gonna risk becoming a stage two.

Maria's words echoed in his mind as a memory surfaced—a hand buried under rubble, reaching toward the sky.

Despite the disgusting image, he gulped and forced out a grin, not missing a chance to mock the professor, "Ah, so it's lucky you don't get your hands dirty with every little thing?"

The old man looked hurt by his petulant remark, "Maria is one of the first of the new generation. Few others have also gone through the process successfully."

He fired — another bullseye, "So I was right, the two from earlier..." His voice trailed off.

"Two from earlier?" The professor echoed.

"There were two people from this morning… a blond guy and a white-haired girl. Both of them had red eyes. That wouldn't happen to be them, would it?"

"I'm not certain who you're referring to. There have been other researcher's overseeing Project ASTRAEA, using my research as a basis. So I believe there should be more than two. Still, red eyes, you say? That must be the changes of the new formula."

"So you did make a breakthrough." Felix concluded to himself.

"Indeed, though lamentably, none of said projects have resulted in something of your caliber yet."

"Aw, you're making me blush, professor." The cold, dark metal pressed against the young man's cheek as he squeezed the trigger.

"For now, just be considerate to young Maria, the way Luna was to you."

He recollected the events from earlier this morning, and remembered Maria's expression clearly. A teary, angry expression.

"… I thought I was." Felix answered with a confused, downtrodden tone.

"My, did something happen?"

"I was trying to imitate Luna, but Marie didn't seem to like that. She wouldn't even talk to me..."

"Then clearly you should apologize. See things eye to eye."

"Sigh, now's… not a good time. I'll let her cool down before I do."

"I would like to help, but I'm still rather occupied. I simply wanted to meet with you, but now I have to—"

"Wait, eyes…" Felix stood up, "I actually had a question about my eyes."

"Ah, yes. Your blue eye. As I've told you before, I will make the time to explain to you when the rest are—"

"You haven't read the report yet, right?" He cut the old man off, "Both of my eyes turned blue for a little bit during the mission, and apparently did earlier today, but… it doesn't last for too long." 

"So it's made it to that point." The old man's voice carried a hint of satisfaction, "It won't take long for your abilities to fully develop. I will make it so that I can explain it to all of you at the same time."

"Ah, right. But... what I wanted to ask was something else."

"What is it?"

"Do my eyes… do they look like flowers?"

With furrowed eyebrows, the old man scratched his beard, "Light disperses outwardly from your pupils through the nerves of your iris, so I suppose you could interpret it like flowers."

"I see… Yeah, that makes sense."

"Be glad. You're starting to be more like Luna now."

Felix scratched his rosy red cheeks before quickly turning to the side to hide it, "R-right. See ya, professor."

After the professor had left, Felix pulled out the four-leaf clover necklace under his shirt and smiled. "She said I was in Blue Mode earlier. If I can make the power work on instinct, then…"

He breathed in deeply, the scent of gunpowder and dry earth filling his nose.

Both of his eyes started to glow bright blue as his finger pressed against the trigger, firing one last round with a wide grin on his face

— Miss.

"Bollocks."

~