Attention
This Fic takes place 20 years after the events of the Akame ga Kill anime/filler
Not the manga
Also spoilers
(duh)
Jack kicked the door down and ran into the well lit room beyond. Standing inside the large, dimly lit, oriental style, gym-like room were several men and women, all wearing martial arts gis with black arm and leg armor. Disciples of the Imperial Fist.
They immediately rushed towards Jack, who met them head-on, dodging a blow from the first one and planting a fist in their face sending the martial artist flying backwards. Jack then sprung back as several more kicks and punches flew at him. He blocked and dodged for a few seconds, getting a feel for his opponents, before catching a kick from one of them, turning, and slamming them into another Imperial Fist that had been coming in from behind. Jack then ducked, reached up towards the hand that was now occupying the space his head had been only milliseconds before, and threw the opponent over his shoulder, slamming them into the polished wooden floor.
Jack worked his way through them one by one, making sure to keep an eye on every enemy in the room and exploiting their openings with deadly efficiency. After a minute of intense punching, kicking, and throwing, the martial artists all lay knocked out on the ground. Jack stepped over one of them, facing the final figure in the room.
Her green metal arm brought her lighter to her mouth, and The Boss's white hair, purple eye, and black eyepatch were illuminated by the flame. The Boss took in a long breath, then after letting out a puff of smoke, smooshed her cigarette in an ashtray, which was sitting on a table next to her.
This was it. The final obstacle in the final test. Jack had fought through the entire building to get here. This was the last bit of training until he was cleared for deployment, and the only part he was truly worried about. There was no way his mentor, Najenda the former leader of Night Raid, was going to go easy on him.
"Well done, Jack. You've exceeded my expectations in all area's." The Boss stepped forward. "But have you truly mastered CQC?"
"I have." Jack replied confidently.
"Show me." The Boss said, clenching her metal fist.
Both of them stood unmoving for a few seconds. This was the end of Jack's extensive training, but so much more as well. It was also the graduation of CQC, a hand-to-hand combat style that he and The Boss had developed over their long years together. Even though the test wasn't technically over yet, both of them could not be more proud. It was time to complete their work.
Jack ran forward, dodging under The Boss's first strike and rolling behind her. Najenda blocked two incoming punches with her metal arm before striking out with a round-house kick, which Jack cartwheeled away from. Jack didn't give her room to breath, however, and immediately rushed forward with a flurry of kicks and blows.
After blocking a few more attacks, The Boss reached out with her metal arm and grabbed Jack's hand. Placing her other arm on his chest, she used his momentum to throw him to the ground. On his way down, however, Jack managed to catch Najenda's wrist and plant his boot on her torso. Jack rolled back, tossing Najenda high into the air.
The Boss spun in the air, landing on her feet with a sizable thud. She looked up, seeing Jack running towards her once more, and dove in, her face coming within inches of her opponent. The Boss grabbed his arm and slammed her mechanical elbow into it, then into Jack's chest, sending him reeling back. As he regained his balance, The Boss raised her metal arm and slammed her fist into the ground, shattering the wooden floor and sending Jack sliding back into the far wall.
Jack had only just recovered when he looked up, seeing Najenda blur into existence right in front of him. He dodged to the side as her fist obliterated the wall behind him, pulling a dull wooden knife as he did a backflip. Warm up was over.
Najenda turned, aiming her metal arm, and with a large puff of steam, half the arm shot forward, the only thing attaching it to it's user being a single cable. Jack once again dodged to the side, only to dodge back as two rubber bullets zoomed past his face. The Boss had used her other arm to whip out a pistol.
The arm slammed into the wall beyond, and The Boss shot forward, going in for a low sweep at Jack's legs and tripping him. Her arm then detached from the wall, reeling back into it's socket as she turned and aimed her sidearm again, only to realize that, despite there being hardly anything in the room, Jack had vanished from sight.
She looked to the ceiling, but there were no rafters or handholds for Jack to cling to. She turned around, only to turn back when she didn't see him. Then, she felt a presence behind her.
Before The Boss had time to ponder how the hell Jack had pulled this off, she felt the gun in her hands fall to pieces as he took it apart. At the same time, she felt the knife coming in on her neck. Najenda bent to the side, feeling the knife brush the tip of her ear, before her arm shot out again, this time planting itself in the floor and quickly pulling her away.
Jack continued his offensive, aiming several precise strikes and preventing The Boss from re-gaining solid footing. In an attempt to push Jack away, Najenda sent forth a barrage of rapid-fire punches. To her surprise, none of them connected, and Jack managed to lightly jab her flesh arm, rendering it 'useless'.
Wincing, The Boss slammed her metal fist into the floor again. This time, however, Jack was ready for this attack. He jumped up, landing on the ceiling, then just as his opponent was pulling their arm out of the floor, he pushed off, landing in front of Najenda, the tip of his knife coming within centimeters of her chest. They both froze in place, examining the hit.
The Boss nodded, and the two withdrew. Smiling proudly, she looked upon her student. When she'd found Jack in the streets during the aftermath of the rebellion, he had been small, scared, and without direction. Now his face had a beard, his eyes were hardened, and his frame was strong and solid. The messy brown hair hadn't changed a bit though.
"Nicely done, Jack." Najenda praised him. "Doesn't look like anything's going to get by you a second time. Just make sure you dodge it the first time to."
"You seemed a bit slower than usual." Jack said in his naturally gruff voice. "You doing alright?"
Najenda was about to answer, but then the scent of fish suddenly filled the room. Both looked towards the door, seeing a muscular man wearing a blue, white, and gold formal sailors uniform that gave the man a rather grandiose presence. The Imperial Arms Grand Chariot, a black short sword with a handguard, was strapped to his back.
"Ah, Major Wave." Najenda greeted, forcing a smile.
"Boss." Wave replied, making his way over to the pair in the center of the room.
"How did Jack do in the sealth portion of the test?" She asked.
"When he came up behind me and choked me out, I hadn't even noticed anyone else was missing." Wave replied, then turning to Jack. "You think you could go easy on my neck next time Jack? It's going to be a little sore in the morning."
"I did." Jack replied, causing Wave to rub his neck thankfully.
"Yes. And he went a little too easy on me as well." Najenda said. "It was a wonderful performance, but you should know that you won't be able to seriously injure me Jack."
"Well can you blame him?" Wave said, chuckling carelessly. "You haven't exactly gotten younger Boss."
Najenda's eye twitched. Jack backed up as she beat the crap out of Wave, leaving several comically oversized bumps in his face before turning her back and crossing her arms.
"You know Major, it's rude to comment on a woman's age." Jack spoke.
"Ugh… You would know, wouldn't you?" Wave replied, slowly getting up again.
Jack smiled, closing his eyes and nodding.
"That aside." Najenda said. "It looks like Jack still passed with flying colors. Tomorrow we'll be officially banding together as FOX." She then turned back to Wave. "I sure hope you know what you're doing."
"You're kidding right? There's no way in hell I'm going to mess this up." Wave grinned, finally getting to his feet.
"Good the-" Najenda paused as Jack pointed to his nose. She reached up, brushing under her nostril, realizing that her nose was bleeding. "Both of you get some sleep. We'll be up early tomorrow."
The Boss then turned and left the room.
The wooden double doors swung open, and Najenda staggered into her office. She fell onto her desk, knocking over a container of pens and a picture frame, before sliding to the other side of it and falling again, this time into her black leather chair. Najenda's hands scrambled for one of her desks drawers, opening one that was full of files. Blinking twice, she realized that it was the wrong drawer, and slammed it shut before going for the one above it.
As it slid open, Najenda saw the rows of purple, liquid filled vials she was looking for, and quickly grabbed one. Her shaking hand failed to keep hold of it, however, and the vial shattered on the ground, spilling purple all over the red carpet. Then, Najenda's chest convulsed. She covered her mouth with her hand as she coughed, heaving in and out for several seconds before finally being able to breath normally again. Her hand was now covered in blood.
Najenda shook her head, reaching for a vial with both hands this time, and successfully brought it up to her mouth. Taking off the cork, she downed the vial's contents, and a feeling of relief washed over her.
"Damn it all." She muttered to herself, taking a few minutes to breath.
Long ago, back when she was still fighting for the Revolutionary Army, she had controlled a humanoid Imperial Arms named Susanoo. He had been many things. Fighter, housekeeper, perfectionist, even friend. There was one downside, however. While is trump card was powerful, amplifying his combative abilities tenfold, it sucked out the life-force of it's user, and could only be used three times. At the end of the third use, the user is supposed to die. Najenda had been said user, and she had used his trump card three times, yet as soon as Susanoo had been certain that she and the others had escaped, he had committed suicide, returning her life-force. While this had prevented her from instant death, her life-span had been halved, and her health had been compromised.
Najenda reached over, propping the picture frame she'd knocked down back up. It held a picture of Night Raid. Night Raid before everything went to Hell. Before even Tatsumi joined.
Leone had her arms wrapped around Mine and Sheele, giving the camera a confident, but teasing grin. Both her hostages were flustered. Mine had her mouth wide open, yelling angry absurdities, while Sheele struggled to keep her balance. Akame and Lubbock were lurking in the corners of the group, the former staring blankly ahead, and the later striking a pose that could be considered both cool and embarrassing. Towering above everyone was Bulat, who was unintentionally showing off his bulging muscles and heart-shaped pompadour while giving a whole hearted smile. Standing in the center of it was The Boss, Najenda.
Najenda looked at herself in the photo, then in the reflection of the glass. She was different. Noticeable wrinkles were starting to form on her face. And stacked with all of her other problems, well, she hated to admit it, but she didn't have much time left.
She looked across her office. The books lining the shelves on the far walls. The Night Raid banner above the fireplace to the side. The broken and battered Imperial Arm Pumpkin, of which sat in a display case across from the fireplace. She'd been working in this room for over 15 years, and she might very well die in the very chair she was now sitting in.
The Boss, as everyone now called her, had worked tirelessly to ensure that the country her team had sacrificed their lives to make didn't fall apart. For the most part, it had worked so far. A new democratic government had been implemented in favor of the abused monarchy system, the people elected leader of which was now named The President. Everything had improved since then, economy, public happiness, citizen mortality rate, the only thing that hadn't improved were foreign relations.
The surrounding countries saw the rebellion as an opportunity to call the Empire weak, and attempt to establish dominance. War at already almost broken out several times, and the situation had become extremely strained. There were rumors of weapons and technology being built on all fronts that could potentially combat The Empire. "Weapons to surpass Imperial Arms" They called them. But nothing had been found to suggest that any of them were even close to creating such a thing. And for everyone's safety, she hoped they never would.
That's when the phone rang, it's annoying buzzing filling the room.
Yes, phone. Technology had advanced since the days of the rebellion. These little trinkets had been around for 12 years, but Najenda still couldn't get used to them.
"This is The Boss." Najenda announced as she answered the phone.
"Hello Boss." A familiar, commanding voice floated over her ear. "This is the President."
"Sir?" Najenda instinctively straightened. "What can I do for you?"
"First let me ask. How did Jack do?" The President questioned.
"He passed with flying colors, sir." Najenda answered. "I have no doubt he'll make a fine soldier."
"Hmmm. Good." The President said, a hint of worry etched into his voice. "Then I may have an assignment for your new little unit."
"Sir, it's not my unit. It's Major Wave's." Najenda corrected.
"Indeed." She could sense that the President was rolling his eyes behind the cover of the phone. "The purpose of this call is to inform you that last night a blacksmith by the name of Sokolov was kidnapped in his own home. Sokolov is a genius, and is one in a long family history of blacksmiths. His family even worked on the Imperial Arms."
Najenda leaned back in her chair. "Sokolov. You mean that blacksmith who fled the Eastern Country fearing his own creations?"
"Yes." The President confirmed.
"And you want us to bring him back?" Najenda asked.
"Indeed. The kidnapper was last seen heading back to the Eastern Country, Slavia. Spies have already reported a likely location. But Boss, that's not the only concerning factor." The President sighed. "Boss, the one who kidnapped Sokolov… She matches Akame's description."
Najenda quickly stood up. "Akame? Are you sure?"
"It's not just the description. Sokolov was working in the palace itself, under the protection of the imperial guard. On top of that she seemed to know the layout of the place. We both know that not many can pull this sort of job off alone." The President finished.
There was a pause as Najenda took this in.
After the rebellion took over, Akame took the blame for all of the rebellions wrong doings, and went into exile. That day both her and Najenda become legend amongst mercenaries, assassins, and soldiers alike. The two surviving members of Night Raid. One working for the Empire, and one working against it. Many had been sent to kill Akame, but none had returned. It was had been the only sign that Najenda's former ally was still alive since they parted ways, so why had she suddenly decided to appear?
"I trust your feelings for your former associate will not get in the way of the mission?" The President asked.
Najenda winced at that. Akame had been more than an associate. "Of course sir."
"Good. You'll be fully briefed in the morning. Have a good night Boss."
"You to, Mr. President." Najenda said, then hung up.
She stood there in silence for several minutes, possibilities tossing and turning in her head.
"What the hell are you doing Akame." Najenda muttered.
