What Friends are For
"Using cheap flour to find the fabric, huh?" Chelsea said, intrigued.
"Yeah." Sayo said. "We scattered it over the most likely spots where it had landed and found in stuck to a tree."
"That's pretty smart." Chelsea said honestly. "Why'd you stay in that class anyway?"
"I don't really have money left after that initial shopping spree when we first came here." Sayo said. "Ever since I sold his sword, Tatsumi's been holding the money bag. He gives Ieyasu more pocket money than me!" Sayo pouted. "I already apologized, too. I mean, what else should he need?"
"You do know that you can change classes if the new course has the same amount of hours?" Chelsea said.
Sayo stared at her, mouth agape. Chelsea sighed.
"Not that smart after all." she amended her previous compliment.
Sayo seethed, but remained silent. WIth a grumpy shake of her head she turned her attention to her textbook.
Chelsea merely smirked. She looked at her own assignments. They were finished long ago. She might spend most of her time teasing her friends, but she can honestly say that she is a diligent student.
With Sayo clamming up and nothing else to do, Chelsea rested her head on her arms and slept.
She was awoken by a huge crash.
Every head in the library turned to see a woman clothed in purple attire rubbing her head, surrounded by an entire shelf's worth of old books. Some were apparently torn and ruined from the fall, and the assistant looked distressed at her mistake.
Chelsea felt the incoming presence of an angry aura.
"Sheele Ianthe." the librarian hissed, walking up to the purple haired woman like a contained bomb waiting to explode. Students and staff alike scrambled out of her way.
Fascinating. Chelsea thought. Her anger is actually palpable.
"How many times does this make?" the librarian said, her tone like cutting ice. "Six? Seven?"
"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry for this!" Sheele, the assistant girl, said. "I'll make this up to you, I promise!"
"I don't need apologies, you've promised that before and I've heard more than enough coming from you. Heavens know why I even gave you a chance." the librarian spat at her. "Do you know how much money those books are worth?!"
"P-Please Miss Rika! I won't do it again!" Sheele kept apologizing.
Sheele started to tear up.
"It's what you said last time, girl." the librarian said indifferently. "We've given you enough of that. This is the last time you will give us any trouble. Leave. You're fired."
Sheele grabbed the hem of the librarian's dress and did not let go.
"Miss Rika! I need this job!" she sobbed.
"Unhand me at once!" the librarian shouted in disgust. "SECURITY!"
She slapped away Sheele's hand and three large men came from the entrance. They dragged her out unceremoniously. Chelsea did not miss the fact that one of them used the opportunity to grope the pretty, yet clumsy girl before dumping her outside.
Her needles appeared in her hands reflexively.
No. That won't do. Chelsea thought, trying to think clearly. The needles disappeared into the confines of her sleeves. They will pay, but I'll need a plan if I am to get away with-
"YOU!"
A familiar shout snapped Chelsea out of her reverie. Sayo was standing up and pointing a shaking finger at one of the guards.
"I SAW WHAT YOU DID!"
"So what?" the guard scoffed. "She's just a country bitch. I can do whatever I want with-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Sayo sent his teeth flying with an aerial kick to the face. He dropped to the ground, out like a light.
"THIS COUNTRY BITCH CAN TAKE YOU DOWN!"
"Get her!" one of the other two shouted. They drew their batons and charged at the lone girl. The first man barreled at Sayo, who caught him with an oomph. She blocked a hit from the baton with her bare hands and kneed the man right at the babymaker. He went down wheezing, clutching his groin. The last one approached her more cautiously. It seems that he was the more experienced of the three. He took advantage of his size and strength by moving quickly but firmly at Sayo. She sent another flying kick aimed towards his solar plexus, but he blocked it with the broad of his left arm and threw a powerful right hook that she couldn't avoid. Before the fist struck her, the man completely froze and collapsed to the ground, twitching and drooling on the floor. Sayo looked up to identify her saviour and found a cheeky, lollipop-licking girl standing over the man with a pair of bloody needles.
"You'll be walking a little weird for a few days, but it's nothing permanent." Chelsea reassured the paralyzed guard. Awed gasps could be heard from the captivated audience. Chelsea smirked.
"YOU ARE BOTH BANNED FROM THIS LIBRARY FOR LIFE!" the librarian screeched, going into full old woman lecture mode. Chelsea muted the old crone's voice with her headset.
For such a small person, she's louder than a raid siren.
"You heard her. Let's go." Chelsea said, seemingly unperturbed by what had happened. Sayo nodded and followed the amber-haired girl out of the library.
"Why'd you help me?" Sayo said. "You didn't have to."
"What do you think would happen if your pretty face gets a bruise?" Chelsea said, stretching up on her toes like a cat. "I wouldn't have anyone to compete with."
"Compete for what?" Sayo asked, confused.
"Oh, just the affections of a certain boy." Chelsea said in a teasing tone.
"Wha-WHA-WHAT!?" Sayo flushed crimson, an expression Chelsea prided herself in drawing out. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Chelsea merely smiled.
"Sure..." she allowed the younger girl to brush it off. "But you do owe me for the trouble with the librarian, though. If it weren't for your temper, we could've made those idiots beg without getting into so much trouble."
Sayo looked away. "Well, nobody was going to do anything. So I did."
"On the contrary, I would've. If you were a little more patient, we could've worked that out together."
".. Sorry." Sayo apologized.
"I don't need apologies, I need favors." Chelsea said, winking.
Sayo gave up, exasperated, and nodded. The study break bell rang and the two girls went their separate ways.
Sayo walked down Nineteenth street, whistling a merry tune for herself. She had passed her first monthly rating exam with flying colors, going on second in her class of forty. Even Chelsea would have to admit that's an impressive achievement for a first year. She sipped a soda and sighed with happiness.. until the image of her grinning rival came to mind.
Chelsea. That girl..
".. just the affections of a certain boy.."
Sayo blushed again. She stole glances around her, but no one seemed to have noticed. Or cared, for that matter.
What is she doing?
Chelsea knew of her crush on Tatsumi, and Sayo knew she knew, but she'd never brought it up so bluntly before.
She has no tact whatsoever!
Her mind drifted to something else though. A hint of a challenge, a competition between the two girls.
To compete for Tatsumi..
That blind idiot isn't worth all this trouble with Chelsea! Sayo thought. He's dumb, annoying, brutish, unelegant, talented, strong, loyal, caring, handsome..
Agh! This train of thought isn't getting her nowhere.
Damn Chelsea and her mischief.
So that's how you want it, huh? Chelsea thought passionately. She crushed her soda can, eyed a metal bin and threw it so hard it dented its insides. The echo of metal hitting metal drew the attention of several people passing by.
"Country girl."
THAT'S RIGHT! Sayo thought. This country girl's gonna beat her city rival! Just you all watch!
Her steps grew lighter and merrier as her resolve to sweep that idiot off his feet strengthened.
'A certain' country boy turned about and faced an opponent two years his senior; a huge man named Kalbi. Ice-blue eyes tracked every single movement both men moved, every twitch of the muscle and expression they exhibited.
Tatsumi had rocketed to the top of the first year classes, so Esdeath had arranged for him to face a stronger opponent. She has yet to find a challenge beyond his limits, but perhaps a sparring session with a Koukenji elite two years his senior could prove otherwise.
"I'M GONNA BREAK YOU, COUNTRY BOY!" Kalbi exclaimed. Snot drooled down his pierced snout.
"Is your mouth all you have going for you?" Tatsumi taunted. "Oh wait, you've got the pot belly, too!"
Is it just her, or does his voice sound.. slurred?
"I'M GONNA BEAT YOU UP, PUNK!" Kalbi shouted, pounding his massive fists together.
"Come at me, you big, fat, ugly advertisement for birth control!" Tatsumi mouthed away. Okay, there's definitely no mistaking it now. He's very much drunk. As an instructor Esdeath should be obligated to report underage drinking, as it is considered a misconduct.. but she decided not to. It would make for an interesting match, after all.
The niceties of trashtalk out of the way, their classmates cheered and the fight began.
Kalbi might look stupid, but he's not dumb. Esdeath thought. Enraging a ninth-level Koukenji master isn't going to help you.
Kalbi roared and charged at the younger boy. Contrary to what one might think of the brute, he did so carefully - he extended his arms like pincers as he moved. It was a good tactic - with his range, there's no way the green eyed boy could run from his grasps.
Yet Tatsumi seemed to have no intention of running.
When he got close enough, Kalbi roared with delight and swung his right arm straight at Tatsumi's torso. To everyone's surprise, Tatsumi blocked it with his arm with ease. He then sent a vicious kick towards Kalbi's feet. The Koukenji master sidestepped to avoid the blow, but the speed of the kick was unprecedented. Slightly thrown off balance, Tatsumi took the opportunity to execute a series of lightning swift punches - five consecutive jabs followed by a brutal uppercut. The blow sent Kalbi reeling, but not done. His massive body was trained to absorb cruel blows like a punching bag; it would take a lot more than a few punches to bring him down.
Kalbi's eyes narrowed. It was obvious that he realized that Tatsumi was far stronger than he looked. But as far as he knew, the boy was a swordsman. With his superior size, strength and skill in this field, there is no way he can win.
On the other side of the sparring ring, Tatsumi was also frowning. He obviously did not expect his opponent to have such a resilient body - Esdeath guessed that he had relied on surprising the martial artist with his speed, finishing the fight as fast as possible.
What will you do now, Tatsumi?
The brutish man raised his arms in close combat style - covering his bare stomach and neck, the most vulnerable spots on his body. He roared and charged, but this time Tatsumi did not remain passive like he did before. He moved as well, but unlike Kalbi's straightforward charge, he weaved left and right in an unpredictable zigzag pattern. Kalbi tried to get him with short jabs, but it was obvious that by protecting his body there was no way he would be able to hit the more agile warrior.
Frustrated, Kalbi opted to go fully offensive - he abandoned his defense for the sake of reach and force. Kalbi's blows stretched longer and grew fiercer, and one by one the strikes sent Tatsumi back.
Very good, Esdeath thought. A strong offense is a good defense.
That said, it was obvious that Tatsumi had prepared for this. Tatsumi used both hands to counter one of Kalbi's hooks. Two arms meet one in blitz-like speed, and even Kalbi's Koukenji-trained arm could not absorb the hit. He withdrew it, flinching from the pain. It did not leave Tatsumi unscathed either; he winced at the pain, but recovered faster and jumped at Kalbi's broad shoulders, hooking his legs tight around the brute. He started landing punches at the base of Kalbi's neck; one part of the body that will always remain vulnerable no matter how hard you train it. Kalbi bucked and pulled at him, scarring his legs with his nails, trying to throw him off, but Tatsumi's grip was absolute. A mere moment later he succumbed to the pressure of the blows and dropped to the ground, heaving and panting.
"The match is over." Esdeath announced. "Tatsumi wins."
"WHAT WAS THAT, YOU BARBARIC BRAT?!" Kalbi shouted. He stood up shakily and pointed a meaty finger at the country boy. "YOU CHEATED! THERE IS NO SUCH MOVE!"
"I don't have the privilege of going by the rules, Kalbi." Tatsumi said.
"COUNTRY FILTH! I'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON-" Kalbi's voice was cut off by an impromptu kick to his chest. Esdeath loomed over
"I'm the instructor here, Kalbi, not you." Esdeath said coldly. She then turned to address the class. "Tatsumi is correct. In a real battlefield, one must use any and all possible tactics to win the fight. Remember - you can win a hundred battles; thousands - but you can only lose one. Class dismissed. Kalbi," she directed her attention at the brute before he was able to sneak away. "Since you have enough time to slack off bad enough a first year country boy could beat you, I think you can spend your evenings cleaning up the gym for the rest of the month. Actually, make that the rest of the year. Isn't that right, Kalbi?"
"Y-Yes, officer Frauss." Kalbi said, recognizing defeat when he saw it.
"Good." Esdeath said. "Now leave."
As the martial artist left, Esdeath stole a glimpse at the victorious green eyed boy.
He just keeps impressing her more and more. Esdeath thought. Maybe, just maybe.. he might be able to succeed like I did. And then..
Tatsumi looked back and caught her stare just as he was about to leave. Esdeath's expression remained impassive, but then it happened.
He gave her the most brilliant and the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Students around him looked at him in shock, but he ignored them and passed through the door and out of her sight.
And her heart skipped a beat.
"YOU SMILED AT HER! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SMILED AT HER! YOU SMILED AT ESDEATH FRAUSS!"
"What are you so worked up over that, Ritone?" Tatsumi said, sighing. "I just wanted to show my appreciation, that's all!"
"Do you have a death wish or something?" Ritone said, exasperated. "I knew I gave you too much firebeer."
"Everyone's so scared of her, but I think she's pretty fair instructor." Tatsumi said, explaining. "Sure, she's a little cold and a little scary, but I don't see any problems with smiling at her. Her training was why I'm getting better, after all."
"Haven't you heard the rumors?" Ritone pointed out.
"I'm not the type of person who would judge a person based on other people's words." Tatsumi said firmly. "As far as I know, she's an excellent instructor and a great officer."
Ritone looked at him with surprise.
"With your naivete, I'm surprised you got this far!" Ritone said.
"Hey!" Tatsumi complained. "I worked my ass off to get here!"
"Oh, I didn't think you would sell your body like that, Tatsumi." a familiar, teasing voice interjected. "You told me I was your first.."
Tatsumi looked behind him to see a grinning Chelsea sucking on a lollipop. She wasn't wearing her vest - instead, she opted for a cream shirt with the top two buttons opened, revealing an ample amount of clea-
No! Don't go there! Tatsumi shook off his thoughts.
Ritone did go there, however, and whistled approvingly.
"Your girlfriend, Tatsumi?" Ritone asked. "What a cutie. Gotta hand it to you, buddy."
"No, she's not!" Tatsumi said. "She's-"
"-his fiancee." Chelsea said, blinking innocently. "Engaged yesterday, actually. Oh, how we spent the night.."
Ritone's jaws dropped.
"SHE'S JUST JOKING! RIGHT, CHELSEA!?"
"How quickly you dismiss our love." Chelsea deadpanned.
"You haven't even married and you're already cheating on her!" Ritone laughed. "With the ice queen, nonetheless! You've got guts, kid!"
"Excuse me?" Chelsea said. Her smile remained bright, but her tone grew cold instantly.
"Ritone." Tatsumi hissed.
"Esdeath Frauss, you know? The ice queen, yada yada.." Ritone elaborated.
Chelsea rushed up to Tatsumi and grabbed him violently by the scruff of his neck.
"The ice queen, Tatsumi?" she growled.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down! It's not that big of a-" Ritone said, confused.
"Honey, we need to talk." Chelsea said, sickly sweet. Her voice was low, but it was sharp enough to cut glass." She ignored Ritone and dragged Tatsumi away. Ritone shot an apologetic look at Tatsumi but he waved it away. The couple disappeared behind an adjacent building.
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" Chelsea exploded. "I thought I told you to stay away from her!"
"I can't help it! She's one of my instructors!"
"Then leave her class!"
"It's mandatory!"
"That doesn't explain why you would smile at her!" Chelsea insisted.
"I just won thanks to her training, what of it?!" Tatsumi said.
"You don't understand! You're so naive that she'll have you-"
"No, YOU don't understand, Chelsea!" Tatsumi countered, growing as mad as she was. "I heeded your advice for over a month already, but there was nothing about her that deserved the kind of treatment you're asking me to give!"
"NOTHING?!" Chelsea shouted. "I gave you EVERYTHING you need to know so you would lay low out there! Yet you did the exact opposite of what I asked you to do! She would probably gut you if you would do that again!"
"They're just rumors, aren't they?" Tatsumi countered.
"Her victim was my teacher, Tatsumi!" Chelsea hissed.
"Like you said, it wasn't even confirmed!"
"Do you trust her more than you trust me?" Chelsea whispered, a betrayed look in her eyes. "One month with that woman and you're already-"
Warm arms enveloped her tenderly, caringly. Chelsea gasped, stunned by the sudden display of affection. She dropped the lollipop in her now limp hands.
"I'm sorry." he said. "But I can't."
Tatsumi pulled away, but remained close. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the eyes.
"I trust you, Chelsea, probably as much as I do Sayo and Ieyasu." he said softly. "But I need to give her a chance, like everybody else."
"She's not like everybody else." Chelsea muttered.
"It's the way I am." he said calmly.
Silent understanding passed between them.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Chelsea said somberly.
"Maybe I'm not doing things right." Tatsumi admitted, offering his hand. "But I'm going to do the right thing."
She took it hesitantly, then sighed.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" Chelsea said, breaking into a small smile.
"With your constant remembers, how could I forget?" Tatsumi said lightheartedly.
The mood lightened, the two students walked together towards the gates, exchanging stories about their day.
Five buildings away, a different conflict is unfolding. Three men lay prostrate before a woman with skyblue hair and piercing eyes.
"Pray tell, boys, what happened to you?" Esdeath said, an amused tone in her voice.
"We.. we were attacked, Officer Frauss."
"Who attacked you? Aren't you guards of the Imperial Academy? Who could possibly beat you up like this?" Her sarcasm was palpable.
"A.. a girl, officer Frauss."
"A girl, you say? And there were three of you?"
"It was an ambush!" one of them added.
"You consider being attacked in plain sight an ambush?"
"She.. she used underhanded tactics, Officer Frauss!" Another of the guards tried to speak.
"And do you think that's enough of an excuse to fail so miserably? Against an untrained girl? When your job is to protect students like her?" Esdeath smiled viciously, her hand drifting to the hilt of her rapier. She unsheathed it just enough so that the metal glinted under the afternoon sun like a morbid promise. She allowed it to rest there to fully enjoy the fear in the guards' eyes. When one of them started crying and mumbling prayers, Esdeath sighed and moved her hand away. "But I'm in a good mood today. You won't be punished.. if you lick my boots, that is."
She put her right leg forward, grinning maliciously all the way. This is too easy.
One of them cringed at the thought, but the other two immediately changed his mind with a strong nudge to his sides. They lowered themselves. Right before their tongues touched her boots, Esdeath kicked sideways, catching all three jaws hard enough to send more teeth flying.
"Get out of here." she said coldly. "If I see your pathetic faces ever again, you'll lose more than just your rotten teeth."
"Y-YESH, OFFICER FRAUSS!" one of them spoke for the group, albeit with a slurred speech. They stumbled over each other trying to get away from the infamous woman.
Filthy maggots.
Sayo turned a corner and collided with a purple woman clothed in purple. They both stumbled on the pavement, rubbing their foreheads to ease the pain.
"Ouch.." Sayo mumbled.
"I'm very sorry Miss!" the other woman said, bowing at her direction apologetically.
"Hey, no worries!" Sayo said, laughing it off. She then recognized the clumsy woman before her. "Hey, it's you!"
"And y-your the girl from the library!" the woman stammered. "I got you in trouble, didn't I? I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it, it was more than worth the trouble. Sheele, isn't it?" Sayo asked. "I'm Sayo. Don't bother with the librarian. Everyone makes mistakes."
"But it's happened so many times." Sheele said sadly.
"Maybe the job doesn't really fit you." Sayo tried to reason. "You could probably find another-"
"No!" Sheele cried out. "I can't find a job anywhere! Every employer in my district knew who I am! A clumsy, good-for-nothing-"
"Hey hey! Don't talk like that." Sayo reprimanded her. "Everyone's good at something. You just have to find out what it is you're good at."
"I've tried." Sheele said. "I mess up the laundry, I break the dishes, I slip and got noodles all over the customers, I sneezed at a rich client because of her perfume, I lost the dog I was supposed to walk around and now I dropped the librarian's original tomes!"
Wow. Sayo thought, blinking. There's no defending that. She really is a klutz.
"There's a ton of different jobs out there." Sayo insisted. Negative thinking won't help her. "I'm sure you can do at least one well."
"It doesn't matter if people won't even let me try anymore." Sheele pointed out. "The library was the last place I could find a job. And don't think bad about Miss Rika, she was right. I crashed around the library too many times."
"Why not leave it behind? Try things out in another district?"
"I can't." Sheele said. "I don't have enough money to get another place. Besides, I have a friend with me. I can force her to leave just because I can't get a job."
"If she's your friend, I'm sure she'll understand." Sayo said. Then an idea popped into her head. Oh yeah.. "Why not move to our place?"
"Huh?" Sheele said, not catching up to her train of thought.
"It's got cheap rent and it's pretty close to the academy, too!" Sayo said. "Yeah, I think that's a really good idea! Come on!" Sayo said, grabbing Sheele's hand.
"W-Wait!" Sheele said, but her complaints were for naught.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" Sayo said, dragging her down the street. "The roommates are kind of weird but we're all good people!"
Slowly, Sheele broke into a smile - the first one she's had in the past couple of months.
Maybe that's not such a bad idea after all. Sheele thought. I just hope Mine doesn't mind.
"They're coming." a monotone female voice announced.
"Finally!" an eerie voice of a certain conspiring girl said with glee. "How is it going down there?"
"Stop asking every five seconds, Kurome!" Bulat hissed. "It's been fine for the past two hours!"
"It has to go perfectly, or he'll get my cookies again!" Kurome insisted.
"I'm sure two knives is already enough to keep him away from your sweets, Kurome!"
"Can't help to be sure, Bulat!"
Footsteps echoed in front of the door.
"ETA minus fifteen seconds." Akame announced with a low voice. "Ten.. nine.. eight.."
The door opened.
".. seven.. six.. five.."
Footwear were discarded on the shoe rack.
"four.. three.. two.." Kurome took over the countdown.
Light feet stepped on the staircase and began ascending.
".. one.. GO!" Kurome shouted.
The apartment exploded into raucous action.
You see, when Sayo invited Sheele to try and join their little get-together in Susanoo's apartment, she expected a nice, warm welcome. Something along the lines of how wonderful! Please, come in, come in! We have all sorts of drinks and niceties waiting for you!
She imagined Susanoo in all his neat and tidy charm ushering them into the living room, taking off Sheele's cloak and asking Sayo about her day. Kurome would offer them some cookies and Akame would make them something meaty. Even Susanoo's soup would be acceptable.
She.. wasn't wrong.
She would later learn to admire the sheer brilliance of the ruthless combo that is Kurome's get-back-at-Tatsumi-for-breaking-her-cookies-forty-days-ago plan, but in her moment of ignorance, outrage was all it could think.
Looking back Sayo separated the plan into six brutal steps.
Step one. Make sure they're stepping on the staircase. Place fragile cookies on specific areas on the stairs. Weak vibrations are enough to crack them, giving the perpetrators the signal to initiate step two.
Step two. Pour pre-heated, moldy sludge water down the stairs. Add sticky sewage slime to the mix and kitchen waste fluids to add to the viscosity and density of slip-n-slide concoction. Susanoo had insisted on barricading part of the living room and dining room so that the sludge would not spread to unnecessary places. Future Sayo still has no idea how Kurome managed to get Susanoo in her prank. That man is the saint patron of neat-freaks. Blackmail, perhaps? Future Sayo goes to ask future Kurome. Present author strangles future Sayo, saying that story is for another day.
Step three. Rain down ancient, iron-hard cookie crumbs as a substitute of hail. These murderous projectiles have stewed in the abysmal prison that is Kurome's cookie graveyard, where all cookies go to die. present Sayo had the misfortune of learning that these crumbs can interweave in-between fabric, making it near impossible to dispose of without ripping her clothes.
Step four. Spray an unholy combination of dishwater and month-old bread. Courtesy of a lazy Akame. Future Akame says that anything that is not meat does not deserve a place in her kitchen. Scratch that - anything not made of or related to meat is dead to her. PresentAuthor pushes Future Akame out of the fourth dimensional barrier and blocks the entrance.
Step five. Dump flour and danger chicken feathers to complete the look. Courtesy of Ieyasu, who is currently gone to meet a certain fanatic beauty. This would be his revenge on Tatsumi for leaving him alone and starved in the inn in their first week in the city.
Step six. Look in horror as you realized your prank was wasted on unintended targets. Future Kurome breaks through the fourth wall and mentions how that is one of the greatest tragedies in her life - a misfiring prank. It was the sole taint in her otherwise flawless record of torturing her fellow tenants; and offense to her aptitude as a comic relief character. Future Sayo breaks through and drags Future Kurome back. Author stares on in horror as the story almost fell apart.
Almost.
Anyway.
Back to common sense.
Sayo was mad.
Mad at Kurome.
Who does she think she is?
It wasn't that she drenched a potential housing client.
It wasn't that they could've broken some bones over a stupid grudge.
It wasn't even because she made a mess in the apartment.
It was because her prank was wasted on the wrong godsdamned targets.
"Now he'll be even more cautious!" Kurome went to complain afterwards. "How do you explain your failure, sentry sister of mine?"
"I merely did what I was instructed." Akame defended herself with her trademark tone. "Your exact words were 'tell me when they come and we shall carry out cookie justice.' You did not detail the victims of your plan, and so I reduced the list of possible victims to apartment tenants not already present."
"Akame!" Kurome wailed. "We've been through this before!"
"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."
"I've ranted about punishing that idiots for weeks now!" Kurome said, exasperated. "Who else might I have prepared this prank for?"
"... Sayo?" Akame said, unsure.
Kurome moaned and collapsed on the floor, munching off a cookie to stave off her misery.
"Jush leaf mee alome." she munched.
"Very well. I will commence preparation for our evening dining." Akame said, walking to the kitchen.
Kurome remained there, thinking about her recent failure.
She can't blame her sister. It's actually her fault for not giving more specific instructions even though she knew how dense Akame could be. But she's Kurome, and Kurome doesn't acknowledge her mistakes. Kurome is perfect. So she'd want to blame someone else, but Tatsumi's not here.
Which means...
A/N: Breaking the fourth wall was a more fun than I expected.
