A long time ago, there was a family of three. It was a happy family, the man of the family was a proud father and husband to two beautiful women. The woman was a loving mother and wife to two stubborn beloveds. The daughter was prideful and calculating, impressive considering her tender age of three. She had inherited the pride of her father and the calculating cause of her mother. The three lived in a fancy house in a fancy town that knew nothing of starving. They were left alone by the Empire, as the Empire feared their influence and wealth.

All the people of this village were wealthy for different reasons, but mostly because they made weapons. They had long hunted dangerous beasts and crafted weapons from their claws or hides. The family of three were fond of crafting dangerous blades and fearsome armors. The wife preferred to craft the deadly swords while her husband crafted armor. However, they would always scrap their creations, claiming them not to be as... effective as they used to be. The daughter was always confused as she loved the things her parents made.

One chilly November, the wife announced to her husband that she was with child once again. The man jumped in excitement and picked his wife up and spun her around. He immediately declared that he must share this with his family, his little sister and brother, as well as the rest of the village. The wife smiled in amusement, her husband was really a child at heart. That night the village celebrated the joyous occasion as having more than one child was rare. Many gifts were given that night in preparation of the birth. Warm blankets had been made and dolls were crafted as well as clothes. The family thanked all for the gifts, the daughter delighted in the dolls claiming that her new sibling would not be able to play with them for awhile.

The village had laughed at that and the proud father ruffled his daughter's black hair, so similar to his own. There was so much happiness, and as the pregnancy progressed that happiness continued to grow. But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. One fateful July, everything that the daughter knew had changed.

"My lord, you have been blessed with two daughters!" The midwife cried in gladness as she walked outside of birthing room. The man just outside the door was pacing back and forth. A child of about three or four watched with confusion as her father paced on the rich, warm carpets.

"Two?" the man asked in awe, one child was blessing enough, but two was a miracle. After all, many children were stillborn.

The young child looked up at the midwife in wonderment, "I have two little sisters to play with?"

"Yes, little Red, you do." The midwife replied in excitement, she turned around and headed back into the birthing room, gesturing for the anxious father and curious daughter to follow.

A woman with dark hair and identical red eyes to the child laid on the bed in the center of the room, obviously exhausted, "My love," she whispered, her voice horse, "I have named the first, as we planned to. But the younger one, has no name." The midwife quickly passed over one child to the father, one with eyes like his own.

The man looked down at his wife. Her complexion pale and her hair slick with sweat, her red eyes brimming with exhaustion and happiness. A small bundle laid in her arms, the eyes were open and were a sparkling silver. To him, she had never looked so beautiful, "Whatever you desire, beloved."

"I considered Ginme, but, it does not seem fitting." The man nodded in agreement, "But I have always loved autumn.."

The man smiled in remembrance, they had met in one autumn and married a few autumns later, "Whatever you desire," the man repeated.

The woman considered the bundle of strange silver, "Akiko, our little daughter of autumn."

The man grinned broadly, "Akiko it is." The man glanced over at his eldest daughter who had been hanging by the door, unsure of herself, "Little Red, come here, meet your new sisters."

The child walked towards the bed and nearly jumped on it in excitement if the midwife did not hold her back foreseeing her actions. The midwife picked up the child and carefully placed her at the foot of the bed, mumbling lightly about irresponsible children. The child crawled up next to her mother, in between where her mother was and her father. The curled into her mother instinctively and pressed her head into her mother's shoulder. Little Red quivered, the silver eyes meeting her own red. She cocked her head to the side, and then up at her father who was completely absorbed in the bundle in his arms.

You're small, Little Red thought, I'm going to try to be the best big sister to you both that I can.

"Haru," the midwife perked up at the mention of her name, "Please take the children and leave us." The woman was panting now, the hands carrying the baby trembling. Haru rushed forward and shooed Little Red out and carefully grabbed the small bundles from both parents. She glanced back at the woman on the bed who gave Haru a reassuring glance. She carefully scurried out of the room into the hallway. The midwife gestured to a nearby guardsman and instruct him to take one of the babies. In silence, the five of them waited.

"Tsuki, is there something wrong?" the man asked once they were alone.

The red eyed woman smiled sadly, "Shinrin, I was dying before the twins were born, this you know. Them being born has drained what life was left of me."

Shinrin's black eyes widened in horror, he desperately reached out and clasped his beloved's ice-cold hand in his own warm one. He placed the hand on his cheek, "You can't die." He said stubbornly, "I can't lose you."

"You won't," was the simple reply, "You have me in our children. You have given me everything and more."

"There must be something I can do," Shinrin protested again, "If you are tired, I can, with your permission, make so you are never required to do anything again. Your duties to the village are gone." He took a deep breath, "Please."

His eyes were pleading and it broke Tsuki's heart in a million pieces, "My love," she whispered, "Do not make this any harder then it has to be."

"It does have to be hard at all!"

Shinrin felt the familiar calculating gaze of his wife's red eyes. Tsuki stared at Shinrin's handsome face, the chiseled jaw and the beginnings of a beard. She memorized his wrinkles and contours of his face. She moved her hand that Shinrin had pressed to his face, left towards his nose and then down to his lips. She carefully leaned forward toward her husband and placed her own lips to his one last time.

Tsuki pulled back and leaned against the satin pillows, "I love you, it's not their fault." Tsuki allowed her body to relax and her last breath to leave his body quietly.

"No!" Shinrin cried in anguish. He pressed to fingers to Tsuki's neck feeling desperately for a pulse. He lowered his hair towards her chest, trying to feel one through her skin or hear the intake of air. "You can't die!" He shouted brokenly, "Please. I beg of you." She was gone.

The midwife, hearing the cries of anguish rushed into the room, quickly giving the child she was holding to the guard, and rushed into the room. Haru nearly collapsed when she saw her beloved mistress. She weakly walked up to Shinrin and wrapped her arms around him, offering her shoulder to him. He accepted immediately and let out silent sobs. Haru also cried, her body spasmed as she tried to stop. She carefully tugged him outside the room. She made sure that Little Red was unable to see into the room and quickly instructed two guards to clean up the birthing room. She helped Shinrin sit down on the expensive carpets and lean against the wall. Little Red looked up at her proud father staring at floor, his gaze unfocused.

"Papa?" came the timid voice, "What's wrong?"

Shinrin looked up from the ground and stared at Little Red and flinched. He no longer saw his daughter but his newly departed wife, the similarities were so similar that it hurt to look at the child. He glanced up at the midwife and growled, "Leave us."

Haru the midwife hesitated, "My lord-"

"Leave us!" Shinrin snarled, anger pouring into his veins. Haru curtsied to the best of her abilities and left the room.

"Your mother is dead, Akame." Shinrin said his voice void of any emotion, "She's dead Little Red."

"What is dead?" Akame or Little Red asked, eyes wide.

Shinrin looked up again, "She's not coming back. She went to sleep, and now she's not coming back."

The four year old cocked her head to the left in confusion, before she asked, "Can we wake her up?"

"No, no we can't."

"Oh," came a small voice.

Akame walked up to her father and attempted to crawl into lap, like she used to, but was surprised to find that her father had stood up and had walked out of the empty hallway. Akame looked up at her father's figure, getting ever so smaller before it disappeared. This left Akame and her new baby sisters alone with the two guards holding them.

-o-

Following the death of Tsuki, everything changed. Her father was distant at best. He tended to lock himself up in his chambers, long since abandoning the chambers he used to share with his wife. He had taken to drinking large quantities of alcohol. He grew depressed, he no longer saw the joy in life. He did not see that his eldest daughter had matured in the years, growing to look just like her mother. Akame had tried to keep her promise to her sisters, to protect them. And as soon as the twins were able to make coherent sentences, their was an unwritten rule. Never anger their father. Most of the staff had started to avoid their lord. They still sent food to his room, but left shortly after. When he bathed, they did their best to clean his room, as he did not want to see any of them other than when they brought him food.

The twins were four and Akame eight at the time of the incident. Akame and Kurome were playing too loudly and far too closely to their father's chambers then they realized. Akame did something clever to make Kurome scream with laughter and giggles. They were making a ruckus, but the staff of the house had also figured that Shinrin, in his grief, would never harm any of his children. They were wrong. Akiko, always the serious one, had heard them from the other side of the large house and had started, as fast as her small legs would allow her, to head over to the sound of the laughter.

"Akame, Kurome, be quiet," Akiko snapped when she found her sisters.

"Come on Akiko, have some fun!" Kurome cried between laughs.

"No."

"Akiko, look," Akame started, "We kn-"

"What are you three doing making so much noise?" was a cold voice, "You have disrupted me." The three sisters looked up towards the sound of the voice to find their father standing up above them.

"Father," Akame greeted surprised, this was the first time she had seen her father in over three years.

"This is our papa?" Kurome whisper asked to beloved older sister. This was the first time she had met him, officially. Akame shushed her quickly.

"Can we help you with something?" Akame asked, ever the diplomat.

Shinrin narrowed his eyes at Akame for a moment. Her black hair was long and her red eyes reminded him oh so acutely of Tsuki. He glanced towards Kurome, her black eyes and hair reminded him so closely to his little sister. He hesitated once more, almost letting them off the hook when he saw his youngest daughter, Akiko. Her bright silver eyes reminded him of no one.

"Akame, Kurome, go play elsewhere. Bother someone else," Shinrin growled shooing off the two. Akiko moved to follow the two before he grabbed her left wrist harshly.

"Papa?" She whispered, tears threatening to roll down her face. Her silver eyes wide in shock and fear.

"You killed her, my Tsuki. This is all your fault," Shinrin whispered hoarsely. From within the folds of his clothes, Shinrin pulled a knife out, "I cannot hurt Kurome, as it would be like hurting my little sister since they look so similar. Punishing Akame would be punishing my wife. It would tarnish her memory. But you, your eyes are strange. I will not feel bad."

Akiko unable to comprehend what was happening tried to escape, but was quickly grabbed. One slash of the knife removed Akiko of her shirt. Shinrin trailed the knife around Akiko's chest, not quite drawing blood. He was a warrior, like the others, he knew what to hit and how deep for something to be vital.

He punctured the skin of Akiko's chest quickly slashing. The resulting cut was the length of the feather of a dove. Another gash appeared lower over Akiko's stomach, easily piercing the organ, but not quite killing her or causing internal bleeding. Another gash appeared down the length of Akiko's chest, mirroring the spine of her back. It did not pierce any organs. Shinrin spun the knife in his hand easily and placed the knife above Akiko's right eye, on her forehead. He slid the knife down, once against digging into the skin, he sliced their the wide silver eye and marred Akiko's face. The knife traveled down the length of Akiko's throat and down her chest. It ended just above her hip.

Akiko's cries of agony and pain echoed down the hallway. Akame and Kurome had rushed to find some sort of adult in what was deemed the "safe part of the house". Akame and Kurome ran into a few guards and the midwife that helped to deliver the twins.

"Akiko's in trouble!" Akame cried, "Father got her."

Almost instantly there was a reaction, the midwife ran down the hallway flanked by two or three guards finding Shinrin standing over Akiko's bloody body. The silver-eyed child had long since passed out from pain. The guards quickly apprehended Shinrin and threw him into his room, guarding the doors. He would be dealt with later.

Akiko lay on the floor, the carpet around her stained with blood. Her eye damaged beyond repair. A majority of her chest was nothing but blood, very little skin remained. Despite all her injuries, Akiko's chest was faintly rising and falling. The midwife dropped to her knees, one of the guards had already left to get someone to help.

She tenderly picked the small child up and headed to the nearest empty room with a bed. She laid the child on the bed and waited, making sure Akiko's head was propped up. She instructed the guards not to allow either Akame or Kurome into the room, only the doctor was allowed inside. A doctor walked into the room about fifteen minutes later, and gasped in horror. He rolled out medical supplies, and started to bandage Akiko's injuries. Many of which were unable to be stitched closed as there wasn't much skin to begin with.

"I cannot do too much," the doctor said sadly, "If she makes it through this night, there is a larger chance that she will live. Her bindings must be changed every three or four hours. I was able to stitch up the majority of the injury on her face and her neck, but her chest is a complete mess. I am amazed she has survived this long."

The midwife thanked him profusely, and escorted him out. She closed the door and leaned her back against it. Akame and Kurome jumped up from their positions when they heard him leave and ran to the room they knew their sister to be in.

"Will she be alright?" Akame asked through the closed door to Haru leaned against it.

Haru stared at the bed Akiko laid in and hesitated before truthfully replying, "I don't know."

-o-

It had taken Akiko two years to be able to move without stitches and to completely heal, for the most part. She had lost all sight in her right eye and there were many internal organs that were beyond repair, but were still functioning to an extent. Four years since the incident and the midwife that had cared for them all as children, had passed away during one particularly harsh winter. After that, the house completely fell apart. Many of the guards were getting there in their age, and had politely left the house.

Akame's twelve years had matured her, particularly since the midwife had passed. Akame was now solely in charge for the safety of her sisters. She was in-charge of cooking all the meals, though the twins agreed to go shopping with her. Akame learned how to survive on nothing. She had bargained much of her childhood for the protection of her sisters. Ever since Akiko was injured, Akame had changed. She no longer played with either twin, though she made sure they went to school. She would help them with their homework, and made sure they went to bed on time. They each had a job around the house. Akame would cook, as mentioned earlier. Kurome and Akiko would clean. Then as a trio, they would make sure to keep up appearances. Akame realized that life was never about living, only surviving. Akiko's injuries taught her and reminded her of that everyday.

The three sisters had agreed to put food outside of their father's door, and would only take it out after they were sure he bathed, and Akame always did it. Kurome and Akiko had just celebrated their eighth birthday and were outside playing with the other children. Akame was about to join them when her father's voice stopped her.

"Akame, you must grab Kurome and come with me now."

"Why?" Akame asked, the knife she was cleaning was kept hidden just in case.

"I have a trip planned for the three of us."

"And if we don't come?"

"I will finish what I started with Akiko."

Akame stared into familiar black eyes, for they were the same as Kurome's, "Okay."

Akame went outside and cleverly asked Kurome to help her clean up from the party. Kurome protested for a few seconds, but Akame's glare was harsh and caused reluctant compliance. The father and his two daughters went through the back exit and traveled for about an hour. At this point, Akiko was concerned, where were they? Akiko had explored the house, making sure to bring an adult or two with her. She checked the entire empty house.

When the two daughters had reached a nearby village, they were led to an inn. There sitting at a wooden table were two men. They were willing to buy children. Akame eyes widened and met Kurome's.

After several days of searching, Shinrin returned. He said that he had taken Kurome out for her birthday. Akame had insisted on coming as he had missed several of her own birthdays. On the way back, they were attacked by the Revolutionary Army and Akame and Kurome were killed. Shinrin had made everything look right, he had cuts on his face and his clothes were ripped. Yet Akiko saw through his lies. However nothing could change what would happen and Akiko would not see her sisters again for nearly seven years.

Honestly, this has just been something rolling through my head. I promise, I will update my other story. Eventually. I promise. Until then... here we go. Let me know what you think.