A/N: Chapter 2 of One final breath. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Akame ga Kiru belongs to the rightful owner.
Chapter 2: Kill the Darkness
Outside the capital walls...
"Obtain freedom?" The guard looked at his buddies before cracking up laughing. "Hahahaha! What kind of purpose is that?"
"A great purpose that you would never achieve." I replied.
"Yeah yeah whatever." He waved his hand dismissively and ushered me along. "Just take your merchandise and stay out of trouble." Pulling the hood of my cloak over my head, I made my way into the city. I couldn't believe my eyes at how many people were around me; people of different sizes, shapes and races. I placed my right hand over my heart, feeling the palpitating beat from within my chest. I could faintly smell the rotten stench of death lingering in the air but I didn't mind. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't see where I was going and I bumped into someone.
"Ouch, that hurts." Came the voice.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" I knelt down to help the person up. Taking a closer inspection the person was actually a young boy with green eyes and medium length brown hair. He dusted off his jacket and flashed me a smile.
"It's fine, it's fine. Sorry about that, it was my fault actually since I was too busy looking at this amazing place." He held out a hand. "My name is Tatsumi, what's yours?"
"Sonya Reizen, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I replied, shaking his hand firmly.
"Is that all of your processions?" He pointed to my cart.
"Apparently yes. I didn't come from a wealthy family."
"That would explain your clothing." He glanced at my attire, noting the dirty cloak. "Is that all that you're wearing?"
"If I said yes I would hope you aren't a pervert." I growled angrily. "I am wearing my undergarments but I need to buy some new ones soon."
"Well deal with that later then. Let's walk together, I'm sure there's a shop we can go to buy some new clothes for you."
"Do you have money for clothes?" I asked. Laughing, he opened his knapsack and showed me his coin bag.
"As a fighter, I do odd jobs such as hunting risk species. These hunts also include rewards so I get by. Oh! That looks like a good shop, let's go in." After making sure that my cart wouldn't be stolen I followed him in. The smell of perfume bombarded my nose and I immediately pinched my nose shut. I wasn't use to such sweet scents since I've worked in a mine most of my life. Tatsumi browsed through the racks until he came upon the perfect combination. Hurrying over, he presented it proudly and I couldn't help but smile.
"I'll go put this on." I excused myself and disappeared into the changing room. After a few minutes I stepped out and looked in the mirror. The white tank-top hugged my figure nicely while the black sweatpants fitted nicely around my waist. The dog tag still hung around my neck. Thinking that there was something amiss, I spotted a black and blue jacket hoodie-its design resembling that of Assassin's Creed 3-and wore it over the tank top.
"Looking hot Sonya. I like it!" Tatsumi nodded his approval. "I'll go pay for you."
"Please don't, you picked this outfit for me. I'll handle it." I assured him and went to pay. As we explored the town, he told me about his village and how he was aiming to become big and earn money to fight off the poverty. We stopped at a few places but they kicked us out. Tatsumi kicked up some dirt in frustration and sat down on the curb. I sat down beside him and we tried to brainstorm some more ideas.
"You guys seem to be in trouble. Should this Onee-san here lend you a hand?" A voice spoke behind us. Turning around we spotted a young woman smiling at us. She had short blond hair with two long bangs that framed the sides of her head. A scarf was wrapped around her neck and I noticed that she had large breasts. Tatsumi noticed it too since he was busy plugging up his nose. My hands unconsciously flew up to my chest and I frowned at their average size. Intrigued by this stranger, we had to treat her to a meal in order to get the information so we ended up at a bar.
"Alcohol in the daytime hits the spot!" She slammed her drink down with a silly grin on her face.
"Just tell me how I can get commissioned." Tatsumi said. I picked at my food with my fork.
"Ohh, that's basically connections and cash." She smiled. Showing her the bag of coins, her gaze lit up like a light bulb. "This'll get you to captain without delay. Well, I think it'll be okay with about 4/5 of this." She shouldered the money and got up from the table. Walking away but turning her head back to give us a wink she said, "I think you'll learn a lot from your meeting with me, young lad! M'kay I'll go settle this so wait for me here."
"Okay!" Tatsumi replied happily. Something in the pit of my stomach told me that this was a scam but I didn't say a word. After about 10 hours my patience started to run thin as well as Tatsumi's. The bar tender told us that he watched the entire thing: Tatsumi's money was taken.
"Cheer up Tatsumi, I'm sure that's the last time we'll see her." I turned my head to console him. He was so sad that I offered him a ride. I don't know where we should go but I was certain that fate would show us the way.
"Those boobs...I mean, Womaaaaaaan!" He cried out-loud, shaking his fist. "This is what she meant by learn!?" He was so lost in his rage that I decided to leave him alone. The sound of horse hoofs behind me caught my attention before the voice did.
"Oh hang on stop the carriage." It was a sweet voice and I halted, turning my head to the side to come face to face with a horse. Tatsumi looked to the side to see the owner sitting up front, her blond hair cascading down her angelic face. By the looks of it she was an aristocrat young woman. She turned to face her guard and asked, "Do those guys have a place to stay?"
"Apparently not my lady." He said before whispering in a disgusting manner. "Not again, we're running a bit late. You just had visitors last week as well."
"I'm sorry but it's in my nature." Hopping off, she approached us. "Did you guys come from the country?"
"Yeah..." I replied, giving Tatsumi a blank look. We were starting to be weary of strangers, especially after the little blunder with that Onee-sama.
"If you don't have a place to stay, do you want to come to my house?" Her innocent look rubbed off on us and since she was offering us a place to stay we didn't want to say no. "Before I forget, my name is Aria." She hopped back into the carriage. "Let's go, they'll follow behind."
"Let's go Sonya." Tatsumi said and I nodded, pushing my cart after the carriage.
Aria's House...
When we arrived at Aria's place my mouth gaped open...sorry both of us had our mouths open. Magnificent gates laced with gold while shimmering lights from the massive mansion beckoned us closer. I left my cart on their lawn and followed Tatsumi inside. If you thought the outside was amazing, the inside was astounding. Tatsumi and I couldn't keep ourselves from staring.
"Ahh," The man sitting across a beautiful woman turned to see us. "Aria brought someone in again."
"What a habit." The woman chuckled. "I wonder how many it's been now."
"Thank you very much for bringing us in!" Tatsumi and I bowed low, showing them our deepest gratitude.
"It's okay, it's okay. Make yourselves at home." Aria smiled.
"If we help people out, the happiness will eventually come back to us, right?" The older woman chuckled.
"Mom!" Aria stated. "That's not the reason I'm doing it for!"
"Joking, joking" Aria's mother waved her hand dismissively. "Now you said your name was Sonya?" That caught my attention and I nodded. She rose and walked up to me. Taking me by the arm she ushered me out the room. "I'll just be a minute, I want to show her around."
"Don't be long mother." Aria chastised. "I want to spend sometime with our guest as well." Sending her daughter a kiss, she pulled me out and closed the door. Tatsumi took that time to explain his situation. Aria's father nodded and told him that he would write a recommendation to a friend the next morning.
"In the mean time be my bodyguard, with the others too!" Aria clapped her hands in glee. "Oh! I'll make sure Sonya knows that she is also going to be my bodyguard as well."
"That sounds great! Gauri-kun, I'll let you handle it!" Aria's father spoke to his top guard.
"Understood." He replied.
Next morning...
We woke up to the crowing of the roosters, rubbing the sleep out of our eyes. After a hearty breakfast with the family, Aria ushered everyone out of the house, except her father who had his own private matters. I pulled my cart after her carriage out of habit; it's like the cart is a part of me without it I wouldn't feel whole. Tatsumi walked beside me and even offered to pull if I got tired.
"It's okay, I got it." I smiled.
"Hurry! Hurry! There's a sale at the store across the street!" Aria squealed excitedly. So not only did I lug around my own merchandise, I had to carry her shopping items as well. And man did she buy a ton of stuff. While she was doing some window shopping, we made some small talk with Gauri.
"Look up," he told us. "That's the center of the capital...the Palace." It looked like a cathedral.
"Humongous...!" Tatsumi reeled back from the shock. "Is that where the Emperor who controls the country is!?"
"No..." Gauri leaned closer, glancing left and right to make sure no one was around to hear. It must be so confidential that it perked my interest."It's a little different...there's an emperor, but he's a child right now...the one that controls that emperor from the shadows—the Minister is the ringleader that's rotting this country."
The Prime Minister...probably the mastermind and the one who ordered General Esdese to...I gritted my teeth in silence, branding his name in the back of my mind. Tatsumi was about to say something to that but Gauri quickly covered his mouth.
"Whoa there, don't make any noise, all right? Heads will be rolling if you're heard."
"Then the reason my village is suffering from heavy taxes..." Tatsumi curled his fingers tightly into a fist.
"It's the Capital's common sense. There are guys like that as well." Gauri jabbed his thumb toward a brick wall. There were three pieces of paper, each one picturing very shady looking characters.
"Night Raid?" We looked at the wanted posters with interest, reading the title.
"It's the group of assassins that's rattling the whole capital. Just as their name implies, they conduct nocturnal attacks on their targets. They mainly target high-ranking or wealthy individuals in the capital. Prepare yourself, just in case."
"Yes!" Tatsumi replied while I nodded in agreement.
"Also...go do something about that for now." He directed our attention to where some of Aria's guards were straining underneath a heavy box. That night, Aria's mother walked down the halls with a weird book in her arms.
"Now then...Maybe I'll make a diary entry today as well..." She released a small laugh, "I really can't stop this hobby of mine...Huh?" Because she was so lost in her fantasy she failed to notice a person approaching. She gasped as she found her top half removed from her lower half. A strange woman gazed at the corpse before walking off, a blood stained weapon in her hands.
Tatsumi's eyes snapped open, taking in the darkness around him. His senses were tingling, his instincts kicking in. "What's this?!...Bloodthirst!?" He grabbed his sword and bolted out of his room. I was wrapped in the sheets slumbering away when I heard pounding on the door. Stumbling out of my comfortable cocoon, I opened the door and looked at Tatsumi's serious face. Changing clothes quickly I followed after him in haste. He stopped just in front of the window and gestured for me to look. There were five silhouettes standing outside the window, it looks as if they were walking on air but if you looked closer they were standing on thread...a lot of thread. They were Night Raid; their gaze void of all emotions. Below the guards were busy yelling orders.
"Eliminate." The girl named Akame spoke and she made her move. The guards stood no chance, one by one they fell like flies to Akame's sword.
"Come on Sonya! We have to save Aria-san." Tatsumi led the way to the outside garden. My senses were on alert after I saw blood shed.
"Aria-san!" I shouted as soon as we saw the girl. She was being dragged along by a lone soldier. We were interrupted by the appearance of Akame; she is apparently the leader of this little gang and her eyes were already trained are Aria.
"Sonya go with them. I'll stay behind and slow her down." Tatsumi unsheathed his sword and faced his opponent. I nodded and took the lead, prompting the other two to follow. That's when Akame made her move, chasing after us. Tatsumi held his sword and stood in her path, determination gleaming in his green eyes.
"Not a target." She said, jumping over him and using his shoulder as leverage.
"Fuck!" The guard shouted as he looked back. "She's coming over here!" Raising his gun, he fired out of fear and missed...all of his bullets missed. Akame took his life with one swing, splashing the ground red. Aria backed up as she saw the assassin approach her slowly. As she lifted her sword, I rushed forward and shoved her away from Aria. The two of us gazed at one other in apprehension.
"You are not a threat, stay out of my way." She threatened.
"You're about to kill her right?" I pointed a finger at her. "I can't let you do that."
"Then...I'll eliminate you!" She rushed forward so fast that I nearly had a double take. Such speed! How can someone move so fast?! Is she even human? I tried to watch her movements with my own eyes but to no avail, I couldn't keep up. My instincts kicked in and I ducked, watching the blade sail over my head. Predicting this, she lashed out with her foot, catching my unprotected stomach. Sliding back, I watched as she closed the distance between us once more, her fist smacking me right between my eyes. I reared back, my hands flew immediately to my face. Taking advantage of my disorientation she gripped the front of my shirt and threw me to the ground. Gasping and wheezing from the impact, I laid there for a few minutes before rolling over with a groan.
"I must commend you for lasting this long." She said, watching me stagger to my feet. I firmly stood my ground and shook my dizziness away. "However with this last strike your life belongs to me." Rushing forward, she swung her sword in a downward arc that slashed down my front. My reaction was too slow.
Am...I...gonna die? Suddenly time slowed down, I watched my blood spill out of my body, watched as some of it splattered onto the assassin's face, watched as my shirt turned red. Can this...really...be happening? I staggered back with my hand clutching the wound. I...I...I...I can't die. I haven't...avenged my brother. At that thought my eyes snapped and everything around me disappeared. In the darkness that surrounded me the faint beating of my heart murmured in my ear, straining to pump blood through my veins. That's right...my brother...Roan. I have to...kill your killer. I can't...die from such a petty wound. If you are watching me from heaven...please...give me...a sign... I wrapped my hands around the dog tag and sank to my knees. By now I have a large puddle of blood surrounding me but I could no longer feel the pain. The dog tag pulsated within my palms, it felt alive. Akame watched calmly before lifting her sword.
"Now be gone."
"Sonya-chan!" Aria shrieked as the whistle of the blade came down to cleave my head straight off my shoulders.
"Halt." The word slipped from my lips and the blade stopped just above my head. Akame narrowed her eyes as she strained to move her arms but she couldn't. Taking a step back, she tried again but her arms refused to obey her.
"What did you do?" She growled.
"Kneel." I watched as she sank to her knees though she did resist at first.
"What is this magic...Grrrrr!" She snapped at me but her knees were glued to the ground. "Fuck! Release me this instant!"
"You will get what you deserve..." I replied, raising my hand and held it in front of her face. I could tell that her mind was racing. "Judge." Immediately my spiritual aura spiked through the roof and the intense pressure in my hand started to hurt. I felt the power, the desire and the emotion. Nothing could ruin this perfect moment.
"Akame!" A flash of yellow darted in front of my sight and this woman appeared, shielding Akame with her very body and soul. "If you harm a hair on her head, you'll have to answer to me!" Her fierce gaze pierce my own.
"If that is what you wish." I replied.
"Sonya, wait!" Something came flying from the side and bawled me over. The two of us crashed to the ground, the power in my hand fired a beam up to the sky. Just as it vanished, the pressure lifted and everyone let out a huge sigh of relief.
"T-Tatsumi? What's going on?" I asked, watching as he scrambled off to the side.
"You looked kind of possessed, and creepy. You were going to destroy the entire area...and I knew that...if I didn't stop you, you would have done something you would regret later." He explained, helping me sit up.
"Since you stopped her, I guess I will take the initiative." Akame gripped her sword and got into an attack stance. Tatsumi quickly stepped forward with his sword drawn. He knew that I was in no shape to continue fighting after that massive attack and although he was afraid to admit it, he would gladly fight in my steed.
"Hang on." The strange woman held Akame back from killing us.
"What are you doing?" Akame asked.
"We still have time, right? I owe that young lad a favor. I want to pay you back." She winked and at that moment Tatsumi and I recognized her.
"You're the Boob...!" Tatsumi accused angrily as he remembered what she did to him.
"Leone." I spoke, remembering her name properly.
"Yep, the beautiful Onee-san from that time." She chuckled. Feasting her cat-like eyes on the storage building behind us, she calming walked up to the locked door. "Youngsters, you told us not to kill an innocent girl, but can you guys still say that after seeing this?" Using her claws, she smashed the door down and stood aside to let us see. "Take a look...this is the darkness of the capital."
"What the hell...is that?" Tatsumi's eyes widened in terror. Before us looked like a slaughter house. Corpses of men and women chained to instruments of torture, their mouths opened at their last horror. More corpses where chained to the walls and in the back, a bunch of moaning. There were still living people waiting to be murdered and they were together, caged in like animals.
"They lure unidentified people who came from the country with their sweet words and subject them to their hobby of torture and toy with them until they die. That's the true nature of those of this household..." Leone explained with disgust. There was one corpse on the wall that captured Tatsumi's attention: a girl with a flower in her hair, her body ravaged with terrible wounds and it looked as though her right leg was ripped off at the thigh.
"Hey Sayo... Sayo!" He called up to her, hoping that she would reply to him but she didn't.
"Hmmm...it appears there was someone he knew." Leone spoke before she noticed that Aria was trying to slink away. "Nuh uh, you're not getting off the hook by running away, Little lady."
"The people of this house did this?" Tatsumi's voice came out as a whisper.
"That's right. The guards were keeping quiet about it so they're similarly guilty."
"It...It's a lie!" Aria's voice shook as she tried to deny the accusation. "I didn't know there was a place like this! Are you going to believe me, the one that saved you two, or these guys, Tatsumi? Sonya!?" I couldn't even find my voice as the scene before me regurgitate the very memory I longed to forget from the deepest parts of my mind: Roan's murder.
"Ta...tsu...mi...Tatsumi, right? It's me..." A frail voice spoke and a bloodied hand reached out shakily towards us. He was a boy about the same age as us and he was covered in terrible wounds.
"I...Ieyasu!?" He replied in shock.
"That girl invited Sayo and me...and after we ate, we lost consciousness. And we were here when we came to." Ieyasu's voice shook and tears flowed down his face. "Th...that girl...She tortured Sayo to death...!"
"Wh...what's so wrong with that!?" Aria wiggled out of Leone's grip and had this psychopathic expression on her face. "You're just worthless hicks from the country, right!? The same as cattle! I should be free to treat them however I want! Besides, that girl was so impertinent for having such straight hair for a farm animal! Even though I'm troubled with such unruly hair! That's why I agonized her so meticulously! In fact, she should be grateful I took such good care of her!" I stared at Sayo's calm, peaceful and bloodied face as I heard those disgusting words, my hands shaking with boiling rage. I could tell Tatsumi was beyond angry. Whirling around like a mad beast, he cut Aria down with one slash. The aristocrat woman failed to utter a final word as she crumpled to the ground dead.
"He didn't even bat an eyelash...how merciless." Leone stated.
"Ha...that's Tatsumi...for you." Ieyasu cracked a smile before a serious coughing fit seized his body and he fell to the ground.
"What's wrong Ieyasu!?" Tatsumi quickly knelt down and held his friend up.
"It's the last stages of Lubora disease..." Akame explained. "The mistress here enjoyed putting people on drugs and writing how they were doing in a diary...He can't be saved anymore."
"Tatsumi." Ieyasu spoke, his breaths were coming out short and ragged. "You know, Sayo...she didn't submit to that fucking girl, even to the very end...It was so cool. So for my death, this Ieyasu-sama here will also..." He held up a shaky hand and clenched it into a fist, a smile on his face as he uttered his last words. "keep it real."
"He was already in a state where he was hanging on by willpower alone..." Akame spook as though she was amazed by a human's strength.
"Shall we go Tatsumi?" He looked up as I walked up with Sayo in my hands. While he killed Aria I managed to release Sayo from her shackles, her limp body collapsed against mine and her head leaned against my shoulder. As I looked at her carefully, I noticed that there was a faint smile on her lips. She was able to rest in eternal peace, freed from her shackles.
"Yeah. I think there's a place I want to bury them, I'll show you the way." Wiping his tears, he lifted Ieyasu into his arms and we brushed past Akame and Leone without a word. Piling Tatsumi's friends gently on the back of my cart, we set off together in silence. I understood that he was going through a lot of emotions so I kept silent. We didn't even bother looking at Night Raid, knowing that they were watching our backs.
"Why don't we recruit those kids?" Leone asked her friends as they watched the cart disappear down the road. "The group is a bit short-handed but those guys showed a lot of potential. I am really curious about them myself."
"That girl...she had a weird power. I was pretty sure I cut her with Murasme but she is still alive and moving. Did she develop immunity to the poison?" Akame wondered out loud.
"And that spiritual pressure she exhibited during the fight, it was phenomenal. I couldn't even move my body. It was like I was being stared down by a god or some divine deity. So then...all in favor?" Akame raised her hand, the others slowly followed only because she was the leader. Leone nodded in excitement. "Okay then! Let's go get them."
Somewhere...
We continued walking, leaving the capital behind us. Tatsumi still had this grim look on his face as he walked beside me. After witnessing the acts committed at Aria's little human storage, my respect for the Capital hit an all-time low but I told myself that it wasn't the right time yet. Sure I felt guilty and sadness for those corpses but...the person I was looking for wasn't there.
"Here." Tatsumi spoke and I stopped walking. We ended up right next to an open field completely hidden from the world. "The sky looks beautiful tonight, hopefully it will continue that way."
"You're right, it is." I gaped at the twinkling stars above my head. They were like shiny diamonds. We carried the bodies to a secluded area of the field away from preying eyes. Grabbing a shovel, Tatsumi began digging for Ieyasu while I did the same thing for Sayo. We worked in silence, digging the holes, placing the bodies in and covering them up. Since there was a lack of slabs, I went to grab two wooden planks, a paint brush and black ink. I waited patiently as he dipped the brush into the ink and began writing. After he finished he placed them at the head while I placed two bundles of flowers on the dirt. We said our goodbyes and turned to leave. When we arrived at the cart, we kind of expected company but not from Night Raid.
"Don't look so sullen guys." Leone smiled at us. "Onee-san has some good news, we're here to congratulate you guys on your inauguration to Night Raid!"
"Huh? We weren't...exactly planning on...joining.." Tatsumi and I looked at each other, mumbling in unison. Leone however, didn't take no for an answer.
"Give it up. Leone won't listen once she gets started." Akame said.
"As expected of my buddy, you know me well." Leone chuckled as she rubbed Akame's head affectionately. "Bulacchi! I'll leave this guy to you." She tossed Tatsumi to another member of the group: the man in armor.
"Lemme go! I have no intention of becoming an assassin!" Tatsumi argued.
"It's okay. It'll get better soon." Bulacchi assured him.
"Wait!" I spoke up from where the woman who possessed the massive scissors held me bridal style. "What about my cart? I can't leave it behind, it's all that I have left to remember my childhood by."
"What's in there anyway? Some rocks?" The girl with pink pigtails walked over to take a look. "Ooooh, these materials are rare to come by. She must have been a merchant before arriving at the capital. Such exquisite items, the boss would be pleased. And there are some food items we could use."
"Then I suggest that two people carry the cart. Or you know we could come back for it later."
"We're on it!" Leone and another guy named Rabac jumped at the chance. "This thing shouldn't be too hard, we'll follow you guys back at our own pace."
"Now that that's over with, Mission complete. Let's return!" Akame ordered.
