Talk:Re: Chapter 45/@comment-87.205.131.234-20150919105524/@comment-10733658-20150919135431

The entire point of the flashback was to provide contrast, and define Akira's growth since that moment almost three years ago.

She's given her orders, and expresses unease about it. She doubts she can do it, and clearly isn't pleased.

Flash forward nearly three years, and she embraces him with an agonized expression. He cannot see her face, so faking an expression is pointless (and it's a common trope to show a person's true feelings while they are hugging another person). Her expression is similar to when she broke down over her father. She's genuinely distressed by Sasaki's pain, and likely also the fact that her assignment involves manipulating him.

That she tells him, "You are You. Names don't matter." goes against her orders to keep him under control and reinforce the Haise Sasaki identity.