Hello! Here is my first Akame ga Kill story, Silent Hunger.
Title: Silent Hunger
Rating: M
Summary: Hunger. That was all he could feel. The gnawing, writhing ache buried deep within that was clawing its way out. He could control it, but only if he chose to. This time, he wasn't so sure that he would be able to. No one knew, and yet he was still so hungry...
Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Suspense
Characters: Lubbock, Akame, Tatsumi, Leone, others.
Warnings: This is a very dark taking on who exactly Lubbock is. Cannibalism, Cannibalistic Thoughts, Heavy Violence, Slight Depression, Psychological Horror, Angst, Torture, Masochism, Sadism, Very Dark Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence
Author Notes: Yes, this a dark story—what did you expect from me? There are vampiric elements to this, and let me tell you—this will be absolutely nothing like Twilight. Hmph...sparkling vampires.
I sat in the corner of my room, curled in a ball with my knees tucked in tight against my chest.
It was happening again.
The darkness was starting to overwhelm me.
Usually it waited longer. Much longer. But now, it was begging to be let out. Begging to be unleashed upon every living being around me.
Acid fire tore through my body, and a long and ragged moan escaped me. My head was pounding, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I snapped. Before I relented under the gruesome strength of the hunger that was clawing its way through me.
I twitched, eyes narrowing as I picked up the scent of someone. No, no, no. They were coming towards me. Not now, not now. I could not control it...I am not—was not, is not—safe...
There was a knock at my door.
"Lubbock?"
A snarl escaped my throat, and I hurriedly disguised it as a harsh cough as I scrambled to my feet. Almost immediately, the room lurched and I groaned, steadying myself with a hand on the wall near me. Once I was certain that I was not going to bring up my lunch, I spoke through the thick wood of my bedroom door.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Akame wants you down in the kitchen. Tatsumi isn't here at the moment, so she wants your help making lunch."
Sighing heavily, I opened the door to see Mine standing there. Her petite arms were crossed over her chest, and her pink eyes were narrowed in their usual irritation.
"And why can't you help her?" My voice was hoarse and my throat dry, and I internally winced and swallowed to alleviate the burning ache. "How come you're always nagging me to do things?"
The pink-haired female scowled, glaring at me. "Quit complaining and get in there." Turning away, she headed down the hall, stopping to glance over her shoulder. "And fix yourself up. You look like crap."
I rolled my eyes, running a hand through my vibrant lime green hair. "And how about you work on your attitude? You're never going to get a husband if you keep acting like that."
Mine made a rude gesture and stalked off with a huff, her shoulders held in her usual stance of rigidity.
As soon as she was out of sight and hearing range, I let out a breath I had not realized that I was holding and shivered, stumbling and using the door frame for support. My mind hissed at me, hackles raised as it snarled deeply.
You had been so close...
With a shake of my head and the straightening of my shoulders, I made my way down to the kitchen, making sure to shut my bedroom door behind me.
Akame turned as she heard footsteps enter the kitchen, a bowl of batter in her arms a faint splatter of the mixture on her face.
Lubbock stood there, hands deep in the pockets of his green trench coat. He was standing with his weight distributed unevenly, giving him a sort of strange and lopsided appearance. His hair covered one eye, as always, and the visible one was duller than usual. It didn't hold the mischievous and crazed light he usually had.
Akame narrowed her crimson eyes, seemingly ready to ask a question, but she seemed to restrain herself and handed him the bowl. A pained grunt sounded as he staggered back, wincing minutely as a flash of something dark shone in his glare.
"Stir." The swordswoman turned to face the counter behind her, not seeming to notice the other assassin's reaction, and took a large knife out of a drawer. With quick and efficient motions, she began to slice the tentacle of squid that was laid out before her on a cutting board.
"Right." The green haired teen shook himself, almost violently, before doing as he was told. Akame continued on slicing the squid, but when the sound of porcelain shattering caught her ear she whipped around.
"Lubbock?"
The taller male had dropped the bowl of batter, and now he was hunched over, head cradled in his hands as he trembled violently. Faint traces of blood covered his hands—no doubt the signs of the shards of what had been the bowl cutting him.
Akame set her knife down and approached the green-haired man cautiously, sensing the suddenly dark aura surrounding him.
"Lubbock. Are you okay?"
He made a peculiar noise that sounded like a growl as he staggered back from her. Akame was automatically there to steady him, aware of the strange heat surrounding his body.
"Akame, sorry I'm late, I just—Lub? What's wrong?" Tatsumi appeared in the doorway, jacket ruffled by the wind roaring outside and hair in a crazed brown tangle. His sword was in his hand, but he dropped it with a clang and rushed over to his teammate.
The green-haired assassin groaned, shaking his head as he jerked away from the newcomer. "Stay...away." His voice was hoarse and ragged, deeper than normal.
"Why would we?" Tatsumi demanded, forest green eyes wide. "What's going on?"
Lubbock made that strange sound again—a deep and rasping snarl—and pushed away from the two, leaning heavily against the kitchen door frame. His visible eye was dark, burning with a manic light that was more sinister than it was usually. Akame narrowed her eyes, noticing the faint crimson tint to the green haired male's glare. She had seen that look before, long ago.
It meant nothing good was close to happening.
"Tatsumi." Akame spoke in a soft voice, placing a cool hand on her friend's arm. "Let him go."
Lubbock rumbled deeply, panting heavily as his hands dug deep into the wood of the door frame. Cross Tail was visible, and the metal points tipping his fingers seemed even sharper than usual as they cracked the wood.
"No, Akame." Tatsumi held out his hand as if to block the raven-haired assassin from stepping forward, his eyes burning with the fire of determination and passion he often had. "Lubbock, why won't you tell us what's wrong?"
Lubbock shook his head, his breathing coming in faster repetitions. "I can't. I can't tell. Don't want...to hurt you."
Tatsumi wasn't having it, and he narrowed his eyes. "Lub, you won't hurt us. Just tell us—" He cut off as the larger male was suddenly extremely and uncomfortably close. It was then that Tatsumi noticed how tall the older male was, and how he seemed to tower over him in his near livid state.
But what unnerved Tatsumi, however, was the fact that Lubbock's eyes were burning a deep and dark crimson.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, those eyes closed halfway and their owner leaned close. Tatsumi stiffened, sensing that something was off with his teammate.
Lubbock sighed softly, sending a wash of heated air over Tatsumi, and brushed his mouth over the smooth skin of his neck. A faintly damp trail ghosted over his skin, and with a strange and sudden sense of horror and confusion Tatsumi realized that Lubbock was licking him.
Shuddering violently, the taller assassin reared back, recognition slipping into his vibrant now-green gaze as he stared down at him. His eyes were still glazed over, but Tatsumi could see the horror dawning on him.
"Tatsumi. I didn't..." He didn't even finish his entire sentence before he turned and vanished without a sound.
Akame was at Tatsumi's side, a cool hand placed on his arm.
"Akame, I want to know what's going on." Tatsumi narrowed his eyes, frowning ever so slightly. "If you're going to tell me to stop—
"Go." Akame pushed him slightly, crimson eyes burning bright. "Help him."
...
That had all happened days ago. My actions had no doubt stirred their interest, much to my chagrin. It was during the moments when I was bordering on starving when my rational judgment was impaired.
Acid fire burned its way up my throat, and I grimaced and shifted with a heavy cough.
"I swear, Lubbock, if you make one more sound—" Mine turned to look at me, eyes narrowed in a grim warning.
I grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "Ah, my bad. I'm just restless, is all." I shifted to further play it off, stretching my hearing range to detect any stragglers of the group of chaotic refugees we were hunting down. Cross Tail was a more complicated Teigu than everyone else believed it to be, and it took a great deal of concentration to maintain. The wires worked like radars, helping me sense anything coming even though I could do so by myself.
"Lubbock, you got anything yet?" Tatsumi called up from his position on the ground. He was invisible in the armor, but I could see his faint outline. That, and I could smell him...oh, so delicious...
I was drawn from my wandering thoughts as I detected the slightest wavering on my wire heading a few degrees northwest. Narrowing my eyes, I sniffed—not enough for the others to hear—and picked up the faint scent of intruders. Snarling lowly, I turned in the general direction of where the others were spread out.
"Guys. Intruders." My voice was low, but the others were able to hear me. That, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes from burning bright. It was why I was wearing my black hooded coat this evening.
"What direction?" Leone growled, her voice husky and tense with her rising bestial urges to tear into the approaching insurgents.
"From your position, fifty eight degrees northwest." My ears picked up the faint crunch of leaves behind us, and I shivered with the sudden impulse to turn and attack. Forcing myself to remain still, I spoke to the remaining Night Raid members left. "There's...someone approaching from the back. Male, approximately six foot three in height, slight limp in the left leg. He has a sword in hand, and he's trained well."
"Exterminate," Akame hissed, and I could see that she was unsheathing her sword with deadly intent. Without another word, she was gone without a trace.
Tatsumi cried out as he was tackled to the ground by a powerfully built man, the force of the assault breaking his concentration and his invisibility. I pressed myself further against the tree, attempting to shatter the urges to feed by carving patterns into my skin with the jagged bark. I hissed at the welcome pain, shifting to smear my blood and scent against the wood. No one else like me would come by here—my scent was enough to drive them away.
There was a snap of a branch behind me, and I whipped around. A man stood there, balanced perfectly on the branch, with a large knife in his hand.
"What, am I fighting children now?" He grinned, exposing filthy yellowed teeth. His body tensed and rippled and he charged at me. Anticipating the attack, I disconnected Cross Tail from my right hand—leaving the sensory wires still in place —and brought up my arm to catch the man's arm. He pressed down harder, attempting to make me waver. Gritting my teeth, I stood my ground and shifted to better steady my balance on the branch.
"Aw, give up, already, kid." His strength was easily overpowering me. I was too hungry, and it was weakening me.
But then again, no one would miss one measly little rat attempting to kill one of the Night Raid members...
My gums tore open, blood spilling from my mouth even as I grinned maniacally and my teeth were painted crimson. The man seemed shocked at the sudden onslaught of blood, no doubt wondering where it had come from.
Moving without warning, I had the man pinned beneath me. The force of my attack had knocked the wind out of him, and he gasped futilely in a poor attempt to draw back the breath that had escaped him. I was relentless, and with my weight pressed against him, I could hear the creak of his bones breaking.
"W-What are you doing? Get off of me!" His eyes were wide and I could smell the thick fear radiating off of him. Oh, how he smelled so good...
I shuddered violently, pressing more of my weight against the man. Leaning close, I brushed my lips over the shell of his ear, tasting the thin sheen of salty sweat on his already filthy skin. Normally I would have played with my prey, trussed them up and made sure they were spotless and shining before I attacked. But right now I didn't care. I was too hungry.
When the man's flailing finally annoyed me to my wit's end, I caught one of his arms and twisted viciously, delighting in his scream and the crunch of bone and tear of muscle. Blood poured from the wound, and I felt a deep and dark yearning overcome me.
He didn't even have time to scream before I ripped his throat apart.
Tatsumi panted heavily, pulling his sword out of his current attacker and watching as he fell to the ground with a pained cry. Flinging the blood off of his weapon with a flick of his wrist, he rolled his shoulders with a groan, knowing that he would be sore later on.
There was a snap of a twig behind him, and he whipped around, sword extended in front of him.
Lubbock stood there, almost completely melted into the dark because of his black trench coat. His hair was an almost unrecognizable tangle, and there were leaves spread throughout and blood matted in his bangs. His eyes were dark, seemingly with bags under them. All in all, he looked exhausted.
"Lub?" Tatsumi approached the older male, Incursio vanishing from his body as he sheathed his sword. "You okay?"
"Ah, I'm fine, fine. No need to worry." A sheepish smile appeared on his face as he ran a hand through his hair, and he frowned at the handful of blood and leaves that came away from it. "That fight took a lot out of me. Guess I must be getting old, huh?" Bright green eyes seemed to shine through the dark, illuminating the man's face.
"You sure? You look pale." Tatsumi tilted his head, wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead.
"Headache, if you're so insistent about it," Lubbock murmured, eyes narrowing as he stared at the younger male. "My prey kept screaming."
"Oh?" The brunette nodded, realizing that his teammate had referred to his target as prey.
Lubbock stared at him for a long, unnerving moment before grinning. "Ah, Tatsumi! You act like I'm a liar." Not giving him a chance to respond, the taller assassin was suddenly face-to-face with the brunette.
Tatsumi nearly stumbled back, eyes wide at the sudden close proximity between him and the other. "Lub, what—?"
"Hush." The green haired male placed a cool, bloodstained hand over the brunette's mouth, shaking his head when he made to speak. Leaning close, Lubbock murmured softly into the other's ear. "I know you saw me. Tell anyone, and the outcome won't be pretty."
Without another word, he turned and vanished, leaving Tatsumi staring after him.