I hope you guys enjoy! I do not own Naruto or Akame ga Kiru! They belong to their respected owners; this is merely a lame attempt at showcasing my love for both shows.
Please excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes! Looking for a Beta, if anyone is interested feel free to PM me!
"In war, there are no victors. There are only survivors."
The former commander of the Empire let her lone visible violet eye scan the faces of her notorious Night Raid members, a band of skilled fighters and assassins who's only goal as a faction of the Revolutionary Army was to eradicate and cast judgment upon those who would abuse their power and positions.
Most of them were young, hell she herself was only twenty five years old. "And yet," she mused as she lightly traced the patch that concealed her other eye "I feel as if I'm twice my age."
The group had been gathered rather abruptly once again, not even two days after their newest member Tatsumi accomplished his first assassination upon a powerful Captain known as Ogre. An excellent first mission executed by the brunette teen, one that solidified his place among them.
She allowed her eye to drift over the teen in question for a just a while longer, watching as he and Leone, a spunky and beautiful blonde who was equally dangerous as she was charming, argued. "He's going to have a ball with you kid, I can feel it." Fighting down the smirk that almost broke through her calm expression, the leader of Night Raid gave a small cough and immediately captured all eyes.
"You're all probably wondering why I've called this emergency meeting, correct?"
At the small nods, she nodded and crossed her long elegant legs as she continued, "One major reason was to give proper congratulations to Tatsumi-kun here for his very successful first mission." Allowing a small, but honest smile to grace her features, she gave a nod towards the flushed teen who was at the moment the center of attention.
"Ogre was no joke; He wasn't Captain for nothing you know. With him gone, we can easily put a good number of corrupt merchants and nobles behind proper bars."
Tatsumi seemed to glow at his leaders' words; his moment was short lived however as the shortest of the group, a rather peculiar girl with bright pink hair pulled into two pigtails, gave a loud scoff.
"Yeah right! Almost messed it up this idiot! One second longer and Ogre would have flattened you!" she concluded her insult by blowing a rather messy raspberry his way.
A rather large vein pulsed on the young swordsman's head at her words, and a fire suddenly sparked in his bright forest green eyes, "What was that shorty!? I couldn't hear you on account of you being smaller than an ant!"
The two were suddenly face to face, both glaring bloody murder as small sparks began to crackle between them. Before anything could truly elevate any further, two sets of arms grabbed both of them by the collar and pulled them back.
"Mah, I swear you two are such a handful." Leone commented, easily holding the struggling Tatsumi by the end of his collar as he murmured curses and threats to the other girl who was being held back by a sheepish Sheele.
"Please, Mine-chan you mustn't hurt Tatsumi-kun, he could be injured from his last mission!" The bespectacled woman's voice was soft and warm, and served to almost magically soothe Mines' rage – almost.
"Ah is that right," her equally light amaranth eyes narrowing as she delivered a dark smirk to the still struggling Tatsumi "I'll have to remember that as I plan his downfall, ku ku ku."
Her dark chuckles brought about a small sigh from the taller violet haired girl. "That's not the kind of concern I thought you'd exhibit." Sheele mused rather dryly with a weak chuckle.
"Anyways," the only other male besides Tatsumi and Bulat, the latter who was currently offering Tatsumi rather good advice about controlling ones temper while delivering the most charismatic nice guy smile anyone had ever seen, spoke up, attempting to refocus the attention. "You said that was one reason, what's the other Najenda-san?" He ignored the blush that almost forced its way out when she delivered a smile his way.
"Yes well, with the introduction of Tatsumi I felt like we could use another member as well, this one personally recommended by myself." The ex-general explained.
That captured everyone's attention, and just like that the group's demeanor changed entirely.
"Another member?" the final of the seven, and arguably one of the strongest spoke up. Her long dark almost midnight black hair trailing behind her as she stepped forward, a bit of curiosity in her crimson orbs.
"Ah, I hope it's another super cute girl that I can easily score with!" Lubbock exclaimed loudly, hearts forming in his eyes as he completely ignored the fact that his long time crush was also in the room.
"Pig!" Mine stated with disgust as she crossed her arms over her chest, accidentally accenting her more feminine features.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of appreciation, even if sometimes the mountains are mere plateaus." Lubbock commented casually as his eyes openly stared at Mines chest.
The pink haired girl turned crimson red as she covered her body, glaring a similar bloody murder at the chuckling man who exhibited no fear, or shame.
Smiling wryly at the small show, Najenda focused her attention on the first ever drafted member of her team, Akame; a powerful girl with an equally dangerous Imperial Arm. "Yes, although he is a boy." She ignored Lubbock's loud sigh.
"Yes! Another powerful male will join our ranks, and with this our manliness will also shoot to new heights!" Bulat exclaimed cheerfully, the tallest and most physically intimidating of Night Raids members grabbed the closest body to him – which just happened to be Tatsumi- and gave a bone crushing hug all the while giving a boisterous laugh.
"Yes….crush him more!" Mine whispered under her breath, a wicked smile spread upon her delicate features as she watched Tatsumis' face slowly turn purple due to a lack of oxygen.
"Well, when will he be getting here?" Leone voiced the single question that floated in each of their minds, all the while not taking her eyes off of the show currently going on.
"Well, to be honest. He should have been here to greet you guys, so I don-" She was cut off however as the lights suddenly went out. In response, the entirety of Night Raid tensed, prepared for any kind of surprise attack.
"What the hell just happened?" Tatsumi whispered anxiously, reaching for the blade strapped behind him as he tensed his legs. All others took on their own combat ready positions, all but Najenda, who seemed to smile even wider as she took a drag of her pipe.
"Well, I guess he's here."
As if on cue, small fireworks began to go off around the meeting room as a colorless fog seeped in. The sounds of tapping feet, or more like wood followed, echoing throughout the room.
"I am the embodiment of manliness. Where there is evil afoot, I will be there as well, to crush it!" A raspy baritone voice echoed loudly and somewhat mysteriously as more fog seemed to seep in, and the cracking of the fireworks sped up.
"I am the one all aspire to be! One with nature! The man who can smite a thousand women with a single smile, and grant peace and prosperity to all!"
A silhouette could finally be seen peering through the fog, and while the Night Raid members knew it could be an attack, to announce ones presence was just downright foolish in terms of sneaking and assassinating. So if this was an attack, it was a rather lame and poorly planned one.
"Legends whispers stories of my legend, and craft monuments in my image! The Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku!"
The lights suddenly returned, and standing in a rather odd fashion with feet spread apart and arms extended was a spiky haired blonde with the widest grin any of them had ever seen.
"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!"
"Ah, Naruto, you're finally here." Najenda commented nonchalantly, ignoring his 'grand entrance', with a small smile.
"Bravo!" Bulat praised, clapping excitedly as he gazed with bright and wide eyes upon the still posing blonde. "Excellent form! A grand entrance indeed! We'll have to exchange techniques!"
Narutos' eyes beamed as he pounded a gloved fist proudly over his chest, "Ah, a fellow seeker of the truth I see! Excellent, this is already going great!" the blonde gave a loud laugh, and was quickly joined by Bulat as the other members leveled the two with dead fish eyes.
"This guy's barley been here a minute…and he hasn't missed a beat!" Lubbock exclaimed, watching the rather disturbing scene of two grown men embrace.
"He looks pretty fun!" Leone commented, and soon without reason began to laugh aloud as well, joining the two men in their antics.
"Great, another idiot!" Mine mumbled sourly, her eyes turning to Najenda "Where'd you find this one?"
"Naruto is an old friend." Was all she said, smoke fleeing from her mouth as she reveled in the warmth the tobacco gave her.
"An old friend…" Akame whispered, she then tilted her head to the blonde and narrowed her eyes "He seems…familiar? Is he from the Empire as well?"
"Yup!" Naruto suddenly brought himself into the private conversation, large grin still in place. As he stepped away from the smoke, the members of Night Raid finally got a good look at the blonde.
He was tall, taller than Tatsumi but just a few inches shorter than Bulat. He looked to be around his early twenties, and had a pair of brilliant cerulean blue eyes. He was surprisingly tan as well, and the bright orange short-sleeved coat he wore only added to the fact. He wore no shirt underneath, exposing his rather will defined form for all to see. A pair of slim black battle ready pants hugged his waist, and strange wooden sandals protected his bare feet.
All in all, he looked like quite the eccentric character.
"In what matter did you serve the Empire?" Akame murmured softly, a neutral expression plastered on her face.
Naruto blinked, and then promptly flicked a finger into his nose "Well, I'd say that's none of your business eh, Samurai-chan?" the taller blonde responded rather offhandedly, as he swiveled his index finger about his nose. Akame stood flabbergasted at his words, but hid any actual outward reaction well.
Most girls shivered at his 'digging for gold'.
"What the hell!? Stop picking your nose you nasty freak!" Mine shouted, her anger overlapping her disgust.
Narutos beady blue eyes shifted to her, and pinned with her a rather intent stare. The longer he stared, the more penetrating the stare became. It was actually making Mine a bit nervous, and had even captured the attention of the others.
"W-What the hell are you staring at?" the pinkette half-demanded half-asked.
"You!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, closing the distance between the two in the blink of an eye. His blue eyes bore into her light amaranth. Quickly grasping her hands, the blonde neared closer and closer – never taking his eyes away from hers.
"What…what's happening right now?" Tatsumi whispered, his jaw hanging loose and a red blush adorning his cheeks. To anyone on the outside, this would look like a serious love confession!
"Are you a real life loli?!" Naruto all but barked.
Silence…
Not even five minutes in and he had already climbed to number two on the most annoying, perverted, overall waste of space people, Mine had ever met – right under Tatsumi himself.
Seconds later would find the blonde nursing a rather huge and painful looking bruise that was quickly growing in size, courtesy of Mines' now steaming fist. "The next time you EVER repeat those words again, I'll kill you!" The amount of venom dripping from the smaller girls every word was enough to make most of them believe it.
Naruto however simply pulled out an expensive looking fan with strange ornaments hanging from small chains, and began to calmly fan himself. "Oh, Najenda…when did you get here?" he lamely stated.
"No sooner than you did." The beauty responded, a sneaky smirk adorning her pale features. It was code between the two. She knew he was here all along, observing them, watching. "Guess he's still got it."
Naruto gave another hearty laugh, and quickly placed his fan back into his inner-coat pockets. The change in mood once again threw the rest of the members of Night Raid for a loop, but it was nothing they couldn't adjust too – after all, they were Night Raid.
"You didn't answer my question." Akame once again spoke up, this time her eyes narrowed at the grinning man across from her. Whether they could actually trust this man or not, regardless of whom he came recommended by, was her main priority at the moment – after all, they were assassins. Betrayal was no stranger to them.
It's not that she didn't trust Najenda, she trusted the woman with her life. It was more out of her safety, and everyone else's. This was her precious team, and her precious friends! Her family you could almost say.
Naruto turned his eyes to her for a brief moment, and gave her a long stare. "Man, this one's got some fire huh?" He seemed to see the familiar twinkle of determination, and the absolute need to protect ones precious people in her eyes.
Watching as a long thin smile stretched across Narutos' tan features, Akame couldn't help but be reminded of a fox as the barley visible thin lines that marked his cheeks were slightly accented at the movement.
"I guess you could say I was a well-trained dog." He answered almost jokingly.
Akames eyes widened, and next to her Bulat seemed to tense for a split second. Even Lubbock found himself short of breath for a moment. "That's a…sick joke." The green haired teen mumbled quietly.
Hounds, the Empires very own private man-hunters. They were usually people no one would 'miss' picked off the streets, trained and tortured to endure and survive in any given situation. Those who made it made it, those who didn't…didn't – the only time the dogs would see the light of day was when they were hunting. As the backbone of Honests' troops; when the vile Prime Minister needed something done, or someone taken out fast, efficiently, and quietly – he'd sic his dogs on them.
"But this guy…looks like the exact opposite of one of those dogs." Lubbock mused, his keen eyes observing the blonde with caution. The Hounds were also imprinted with an almost unbreakable loyalty to Honest. To escape that kind of terrifying conditioning, well, you'd have to have an iron will.
Similar thoughts ran through Akame and Bulats heads, as they each paid a bit more attention to the blonde now that his past affiliations were revealed. At least to those who knew of the dangerous group – to the others, he merely made no sense. Or in Mines case, wasn't worth making sense of.
The master of Murasame turned her crimson orbs to stare into her leaders lone violet, she'd definitely be bringing up more questions in private later. Turning her head to the blonde, she granted him a small nod at somewhat answering her question,
"I like you guy! What's say you take me to the bar later tonight and buy me some drinks! To celebrate!" Leone cried, slinging one arm over her fellow blondes shoulder and pressing her generous chest onto his arm. "My treat!" she finished with a wide animalistic grin.
"How's it your treat when I'm treating, eh little cub?" the blonde resorted, his smile still in place, although it seemed a bit less forced now.
He winced however as a rather powerful elbow was dealt to his exposed side, eyes all the while locked with Leones' now more dangerous yellow. "Watch it buddy, or this cub will make you her next dinner."
The blonde gave an apologetic grin, and sheepishly pulled away from the girl. "You're dangerous. Gonna stay away from you now." He stated weakly, inching away as the now double insulted girl cracked her knuckles and leveled him with a furious glare.
No way was he about to pay for her drinks and let her kick him to the ground! He'd learnt that lesson a while ago, violent women and alcohol never mix well.
"As interesting as it is too see you all interact, I'd like to finish these introductions and then escort Naruto to his new room." Najenda spoke up, a playful smirk pulling at her normally stoic face.
Sheele introduced herself first, surprisingly. Although she might have just wanted to get it out of the way, less she embarrasses herself due to her clumsiness. "My name is Sheere, I-I hope we can get along! My Imperial Arm is Cutter of Creation: Extase."
Naruto offered a softer smile, and a short wave.
Not being one to hesitate, the recently offended blonde spoke up right after. "Names' Leone, remember that you trashy bastard! My Imperial Arm is Animal King: Lionelle!" she then gripped the Lion headed belt buckle wrapping around her small waist.
The blonde picked his nose in response.
"I'll kill you!" Leone roared, jumping at him. Only to be stopped by Bulat.
"As expected, Leone is usually more leveled headed than that, but you can just grate on everyone's nerves eh, Naruto?" Najenda mused to herself, a small smile overcoming her features.
"No Leone, wait!" Bulat cried, "You must wait until he and I share entrance secrets!" His light blue eyes suddenly hardened, and he gave the busty blond a casual toss. "Speaking of that, behold Naruto-san!"
Power erupted around the tall mans' form. A yellow light began to radiate from all around him, growing brighter and brighter until almost everyone was blinded.
"Bulat cut it out!" Mine hollered through the winds, behind her Sheele was having a tougher time seeing as well due to both of them wearing glasses.
Bulat however, ignored her and began to spin wildly; his outline becoming the only thing visible as he continued to pick up speed, until he suddenly halted. He then held out his hand, and in a show of force, blew the winds away!
"Behold Naruto-san! My magnificent Imperial Arms!" his voice was morphed due to the impressive suit he now donned, "Demon Armor: Incursio!"
Naruto gave a massive thumbs' up and offered his own charming smile – complete with the twinkle. "Excellent form, and the manipulation of the wind was superb! Incursio is truly magnificent Bulat-san!"
The armor seemed to blush at the compliment.
"Bulat-san! You are the epitome of coolness!" Tatsumi cried from his position, tears spilling from his eyes as he fell to his knees, basking in the greatness that was Incursio.
"Ha ha ha ha! Yes, you understand my manliness surpasses all!" the man took his position, arms outstretched as he flexed his muscles. Next to him, Naruto and Tatsumi took their own positions on each side of the taller male and began to grovel, shouting things like 'we're not worthy!' repeatedly.
"I can't believe these three are my backup…" Lubbock mumbled. "Still," the rather lazy assassin mused "It seems like blondie will fit in just fine."
"Fits in better than fine with those creeps if you ask me." Leone grumbled, a bit sour at having Lionelle out done by Incursio. "I should have activated Lionelle!" the woman roared with tears in her eyes, "Forgive me my love!" she whispered, petting the lion head on her buckle.
"Yeah, and they're the creeps." Lubbock deadpanned.
"You want to really see something impressive, check this out!" Mine haughtily announced, patting the massive rifle that was a head taller than she was. "This is my Imperial Arm," she hefted the weapon and struck a pose "Roman Artillery: Pumpkin! The more I'm in a pinch, the stronger Pumpkin gets! Pretty cool huh?" the girl gave a wide smirk, and was prepared to hear endless praises from Naruto.
"Ah, what was that? I couldn't see you behind Pumpkin there."
"I'll kill you!" Mine screeched, pointing the large weapon at the chuckling blonde.
"Now Mine, I saw him first." Leone casually stated as she pushed the angry girl back, and away from the somehow infuriatingly annoying creature that was, Uzumaki Naruto.
"Yo, I'm Lubbock. That was Mine, since she seemed to forget to introduce herself. My Imperial Arm is Infinite Uses: Cross Trail." He then held up a gloved hand, revealing his clawed Imperial Arm.
Ignoring the shouts from the pinkette about how Naruto wasn't even worthy of knowing her name and with his introduction done, Lubbock returned his attention back to…well, cleavage.
Naruto found his eyes resting on the last of the team, Akame.
"You already heard my name. I do not fully trust you yet, but if Najenda has placed her trust in you…then so will I." he features softened, and a warm smile spread across her face. "I am Akame, my Imperial Arm is One Cut-Killer: Murasame."
"Hey! What about me? I didn't get an introduction!..." Tatsumi rather sadly stated, twirling his thumbs back and forth as a cloud began to form above his head.
"You don't even have an Imperial Arm, and you're still a newbie too. No one cares." Mine commented offhandedly.
The cloud above Tatsumis' head began to pour rain.
"I care about you, Tatsumi-kun." Akame stated rather gently, feeling as if he was truly hurt.
In an instant, Tatsumi was upon her, hugging the girl with all he could as the cloud above him dispersed. "Akame-san! You are the only reason I get by in this hell!"
The girl only blushed, and offered a small chuckle as the teen continued to rub himself on her like a cat.
Naruto felt a wry smile grow on his own face as he watched the two interact, "It seems like those two have already unknowingly created a special bond."
Najenda chose this time to break up the fuss, and with a loud clap, pointed to the door. "After sitting here with you all, I realized why I don't call these meetings too often. You give me headaches."
Her team all gave their own variations of a response, but they all knew it was more of a joke than her being serious.
"Whoever is running patrol tonight, get too it. Lubbock, do me a favor and double check your strings before you call it a night. The rest of you, rest up. We have another assignment tomorrow."
Lubbock gave a short nod, and with a wave disappeared out the door. The rest quickly followed. Tatsumi, Mine, and Akame left together; Mine nagging Tatsumi about personal space, while Akame observed with a gentle smile.
Leone quickly darted out after saying her own goodbyes, most likely she was on patrol tonight. While Bulat and Sheele shared a small conversation as they casually headed to their separate rooms.
Naruto let himself release a small sigh, and turned his attention to the last of the group. His eyes locked with hers, and the smile that slowly sprouted was one he knew he could not fight.
"Your breasts are impressive as always, Najenda."
"Your ability to never say the right things is as always equally impressive, Naruto." The ex-commander responded with a small jab at her old friend, but returned the expression nonetheless.
There was a short, but comfortable silence between the two until Najenda chose to speak up once again.
"So, what do you think of them?"
Naruto paused, and averted his eyes. His demeanor had taken a full one-eighty, and a sharper more mature edge over took his eyes. "They're great people. You chose a good team."
Najenda gave a short nod.
"Follow me. I'll walk you to your room."
Akame waved a final farewell to her friends, and closed her door. Releasing a heavy sigh, she gently unstrapped Murasame and placed it in its proper ornate container so it could rest. Her mind was racing at the new arrival, or more at his previous occupation.
"A Hound…" she whispered.
She'd heard stories in the Assassination Squad; one of her old teachers was once a retired Hound himself; the perfect emotionless warrior's. When she first started out, after her and Kurome were separated she would hear men whisper of them.
"Honest sent out his dogs yesterday, some religious leader wasn't about his bribes. Felt like he was protected by the grace of the Maker, and that Honest couldn't touch him."
"Ha, poor unlucky bastard, those mutts probably ripped him apart piece by piece."
"I'll tell you one thing though; those monsters are nothing to joke about. With those loyal Hounds on a short leash, he's got nothing to fear I guess."
Her fists clenched, and she fought down the protective urge that threatened to overtake her. She would trust Naruto for now, but the second he showed to be one of the still loyal dogs of the Empire, well…she'd put him down herself.
Naruto found himself walking in silence beside Najenda, that darkened halls of the Night Raid lair made for quite the imposing and effective set up. Everywhere there were shadows they could easily slip into, encase of attack or invasion – shadows only her and her team knew how to traverse.
"You've been awfully quiet." Naruto suddenly spoke up, his eyes darting to meet hers.
"Yes…I suppose so. It's just…been awhile I guess." Najenda responded softly, she would need to choose her words very carefully and she knew that.
"Three years since we last talked. I was actually surprised you even contacted me again."
"I was actually surprised you showed up." Najenda admitted.
The silence returned.
In the span of minutes, the two found themselves facing a single orange door. What was likely to be Narutos' new room. They stood there; both gazing at the bright door and avoiding eye contact each other.
Najenda allowed herself a final glance at the handsome blonde, and then turned to leave.
"Have a goodnight, Najenda. It was nice to see you again." Narutos' voice seemed to echo, and it brought a strange chill to her spine.
"I take it this means you agree?" the beauty asked.
There was no response, only the sound of a door clicking shut. The ex-commander stood there for a while longer, cursing herself for letting such a crucial moment slip away. Three years since they last saw each other, three years since she… "No!" shaking her head, she quickly crossed her arms and pulled out her pipe – beginning a calm and steady pace back to her own dwellings.
Pressing her soft lips to the piece, she gave a long huff and once again reveled in the calming warm feeling of the tobacco.
"Funny…" she whispered to herself, a rare and solemn smile growing on her delicate face "It looks like I'm still the one who really can't say the right things…"
She began to hum a small tune to herself, attempting to ignore the rising nostalgia and the tightening of her chest. She really needed to stop smoking, it was a bad habit.
Naruto shrugged off his coat, and gave his rather tense muscles a nice pop. The trip had been long, but in the end it seemed he could not deny a personal request from Najenda. Hell, hearing from her again after three years was strange and surprising on its own and definitely warranted his attention.
"I wonder if there's anything to eat." The blonde mused, dragging his feet to the small kitchen. Upon opening the pantry, he found multiple boxes of instant Ramen. The smile that grew threatened to split his face, "I guess she does remember some stuff."
Grabbing a box, he popped it open, and with the short routine he had imprinted in his brain since he was but a child – a hot steaming bowl of Ramen was now laid before him.
"Ha, orange door, Ramen. You'd think this is her way of saying sorry." Of course, he knew better. It was all just an attempt at making him feel more comfortable, making him want to stay.
Najenda was the greatest tactician the Empire had ever known after all.
Letting his head drop back, the man placed a hand on his exposed naval and then began to slowly trail a pattern atop his flesh.
"Man, it sure does get lonely here…its times like these I really do miss you, Kurama.'
Well, I hope you guys liked it! Please leave a review!
If any of you are wondering where I've been, what my excuse is, etc. Either shoot me a PM or just check my profile. Later!