Disclaimer: I do not own Akame ga Kill.

Chapter Two-Part One:

To Be a Killer

The sky that day was the same color as her mother's eyes; it was a nice blue that was deeper than it's usually color, but a lighter shade than the blue of the ocean. The clouds matched her father's is what Akame decided as she laid in the grass. Ao and Shiro, hand in hand: both of them murdered. They were fitting colors for her first day with Night Raid.

A shadow of a familiar figure darkened Akame's view of the sky. Akame sighed; just like Ao and Shiro, the sky didn't stay very long either.

"You were given the a-okay. Congrats," It was Chelsea who was the cause of the shadow. She had been gone for a while, saying she needed to get the "boss's" approval before Akame could enter the building and she needed to tell everybody present that there were two possible recruits in their midst so they wouldn't 'scare you off or, you know, kill you by accident'. Chelsea held a hand out to Akame, "Feeling nostalgic?"

Akame got up by herself, self-consciously touching Kuromini who was stuck between Akame's belt and her person, unaware that she had fallen into another one of Chelsea's traps: Chelsea latched onto Akame's arm. Akame tried to pull her arm out of Chelsea's hand, but it was useless: Chelsea had an iron grip, "Let me go. I need to go see my sister."

Chelsea started to drag Akame in the direction of headquarters. The Night Raid headquarters was located in the mountains: ten kilometers from the Capital. It was like a mansion in her eyes, and a bit too flashy to be the home of multiple assassins. Chelsea winked at Akame, "No problem. I'll introduce you to everybody as we go to the room we stashed her in."Akame was forced to keep walking because her arm was linked with Chelsea's, but Akame couldn't help shuddering at Chelsea's choice of words.

. . .

The first place Chelsea brought Akame was a courtyard. Two people were already there; she recognized both of them.

"You've already met Daidara and Nyau. And they already know who you are."

Nyau spun on the balls of his feet and waved his clarinet in the air, "Cece! We have a new theme song for Night Raid!"

"It's the best one yet," Daidara gave a thumbs up.

Night Raid had a theme song? Akame stared at Nyau and Daidara. These were members of the Capital's most feared group? It might had been the norm because Chelsea encouraged them, "Let's hear it."

Nyau played a high E on his clarinet before he started to sing, "When you're feeling down and you want to give up,"

Daidara bellowed, "There is hope on the horizon!"

"Night Raid will be there to save the day."

"But if you try to get in our way..." There was a pause. Akame wasn't sure whether the pair was serious about this song or if they were goofing off.

Both Daidara and Nyau shouted, "Die!"

Chelsea clapped, "Nicely done."

They were serious after all, Akame thought with dread. And they're proud of their work.

. . .

Seryu sat on the ground and let a piece of string; she watched, amused, as Koro jumped up and down in an attempt to nab the string. Kurome would have thought that the sight was cute and ask to play with the dog next, while Akame had to hold back a wince. The dog looked too fake to be considered cute in her opinion. It didn't even look cool like a Danger Beast. Seryu waved at Chelsea and Akame, "Hello, fellow heroes of justice!"

"You've met Seryu too." Chelsea ruffled Seryu's hair, messing up her auburn ponytail, "Any words of encouragement for Akame?"

Seryu tapped her cheek, deep in thought, "Well, if you don't join us, and since you already know where are base is," a smile broke out her face, "Koro will have to eat you."

Koro flashed a set of fangs and nipped at Akame; he then licked her face with his long tongue. Seryu pat Koro on the head, "That means he likes you. You got the Koro stamp of approval, Akame. Akame?" Akame was several steps away from the dog and shivering.

Chelsea observed the scene, "I think she's more of a cat person."

. . .

There was a garden. Not a typical garden, no, that would be too mundane for assassins. This garden had hedge art, a gazebo with a glass table and delicate looking chairs, and a fountain. This garden had hundreds of different types of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. This garden made Akame feel like she was in a castle from a fairy tale instead of the headquarters for an elite group of assassins. And in the middle of it, stood Natala with a butterfly a finger and a soft smile on his face.

"Impressed? This place in Natala's pride and joy."

Akame had a hard time processing this new information, "You did all of this?"

"Of course." The butterfly flew off of Natala's finger,"What did you expect?"

She compared the Natala from the other night to the one in front of her. There was no mask covering the lower half of his face and his present expression was kind. The only similarity between the two Natalas was that they both carried a collapsible spear in a holster. A puppet had been turned into a real boy. No, Pinocchio wasn't the best way to compare the assassin. Akame could only think of one thing to say, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"You have a good taste in books, Akame." The voice came from behind Akame. She turned around and almost had a mental breakdown.

"Your still here, Run? Don't you and Doya have a request to fulfill today?"

The man with angelic features walked to the gazebo and took a seat. "Yes, but Doya wanted to get in some shooting practice before we left, and since we won't be back for a few days, I wanted to finish the book I've been reading."

Akame gaped, "You're the angel!"

He shook his head, "Nothing of the sort. But thank you for thinking so highly of me. I'm afraid I never properly introduced myself. I'm Run." He smiled. The genuine smile that made Akame believe he was an angel in a first place, "Nice to meet you again."

Akame's face stiffened. She was never going to hear the end of this. Chelsea was hunched over, laughing, "Did you really think he was an angel? That's the best thing I've heard all day!" Akame walked away from the garden, "Hey! Where are you going?"

Akame didn't turn around, "Moving on."

. . .

A firing range was set up in a meadow. There was a single figure standing on the range. She had blond hair, a cowboy hat, and wielded dual pistols, Gunshots pierced the air. Every bullet fired landed in the middle of the target.

"This is Doya. You've probably seen her on the wanted posters in town."

Doya looked over her shoulder, still firing and still hitting the bull's-eye. She gave Akame and Chelsea a cocky smile and lowered her pistols, "Hey, Doya. I've told you about Akame."

"Yep. Our newest member if all goes well." Doya raised one pistol up and aimed at a target. She pulled the trigger: nothing. Doya tried her other gun; the result was the same.

"Out of bullets?" Chelsea asked.

"Seems like it's time to restock and head out." Doya tipped her hat in Akame's direction, "Good luck, girly." And she was off.

Akame looked at her dress. No one had ever called her girly before. Demon and devil spawn, sure. But never girly. Chelsea put a hand on Akame's shoulder, "Now, let's go see your sister, okay?"

. . .

Chelsea leaned against the wall. She pointed at a door with her lollipop, "She's in there. Maybe Wave too. You haven't met him yet, have you?" She put the lollipop back in her mouth, "Well, if you see a guy with dark hair and blue eyes, that's him."

Akame turned the doorknob, "You're not coming?"

"Nah. Family reunions aren't my thing. I'll wait out here." Akame nodded and opened the door

The first thing she noticed was Kurome sitting on a bed, eating a cookie. She had an ace bandage around her arm, but other than that, Kurome seemed to be in good health. Akame smiled. The second thing she noticed was a man who fit Chelsea's description of Wave sitting on a chair placed next to the bed. He handed her another cookie from a plate that was on top of the nightstand. Kurome happily took it and stopped before she could take a bite. She had caught Akame in her peripheral vision. She jumped off the bed and hugged Akame,"Sis! You found me!" She noticed Kuromini hanging from Akame's belt, "And you brought Kuromini!"

Akame removed Kuromini from her waist and gave the doll to Kurome and closed the door. She hugged the doll. Wave waved, "Hello, I'm Wave. You must be Akame. Kurome told me so much about you." This man talked too much. Akame looked at Wave and cocked her head, "What are you doing here?"

Wave said, "I've been making sure she was okay."

What Akame heard: I've been watching her sleep all night.

"Pervert," Akame accused.

Wave stood up, "I'm not a pervert!"

"That's exactly what a pervert would say."

"Sis, don't be mean. Wave's been super nice to me." Kurome grabbed the plate of cookies off of the nightstand, "He even brought me cookies!"

Akame took a cookie. She munched on the snack while glaring at Wave. Wave backed away from the sisters. He was saved by the bell. Or rather, a knock. Chelsea opened the door, "It's time."

. . .

"All hail the great general, Rokugoh!" A man with gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and a mustache announced and gestured towards a man sitting on a throne-like chair, Rokugoh, Akame assumed. Rokugoh was middle-aged, had red hair, and purple eyes. He gave off a fatherly presence that Akame found very comforting. Wave, Chelsea, Natala, Nyau, Daidara, Seryu and Koro gathered in the main room of the base. Run and Doya had already left for their mission which, after asking Chelsea, Akame knew involved a human trafficking ring.

Rokugoh, for reasons Akame would never understand, was not embarrassed, "Thank you for the introduction, Liver."

Liver bowed, "It is my honor to introduce someone of your caliber."

Chelsea coughed 'suck up' and Liver glared. Akame could feel the tension between those two. Rokugoh focused on the two girls, "Hello, Akame and Kurome."

Kurome tugged at Akame's skirt, "How does that man know who we are?"

Akame brushed Kurome's hand aside, "I'll explain later."

Rokugoh ignored the sisters' side conversation, "Before we formally ask you to join us, you should know what the truth behind Night Raid is. Not the Capital's propaganda version. We are an assassination unit of the Revolutionary Army, a group who wants to overthrow the corruption of the Capital and return the Capital to its former glory. You have undoubtedly noticed the morals of some of the Capital's citizens are non-existent." The two sisters nodded. "We get rid of the people who will disturb the new world order." He turned to Akame, "Now, in Chelsea and Run's reports, you possess a Shingu, correct?"

Akame nodded, "Kiriichimonji is my weapon, yes."

"A Shingu is a very rare weapon to have. Am I correctly assuming that you already know about Teigu too?"

Kurome waved both of her hands frantically, "Pick me! I want to tell the story! I want to tell the story!"

Rokugoh looked at Akame and she obliged with an explanation, "She wants you to call on her."

As confused as he was, he did what Akame said, "Uh... Kurome?"

Kurome clapped her hands, "Once upon a time, one thousand years ago, the first emperor wanted to protect the Empire, so he created forty-eight weapons called Teigu. The weapons were scattered across the country six hundred years ago in a civil war. But four hundred years ago, an emperor tried to create a weapon that was even better than Teigu, and the Shingu was created. But it was ultimately a fail so all of the weapons are locked up somewhere." She pointed to Akame's katana, "So Sis got the reject weapon." Akame looked wounded, like someone had just insulted her child.

Liver nodded, "In a nutshell, yes."

"Well, down to business." Rokugoh's face hardened, "We can't force you to be killers. But you know where our base is now, so you can't just leave. You have two options. Work in the tool shop of the Revolutionary Army or join us and actively take part in the cause. Which path will you choose?" Akame and Kurome looked at each other, like they were communicating with each other with their minds. Rokugoh's face softened, "Now, I know this decision is very difficult. Take as much time as you – "

Kurome raised a hand in the air, "I'll do it!"

Kurome raised Kuromini in the air, "Kuromini's in too!" Double face palm.

Kurome turned to Akame, "Sis? Can we join? Please?"

Akame deadpanned, "Your fighting skills are lacking."

"I'll train super hard." Kurome placed her right hand over her heart, "Cookie swear."

Akame bit the inside of her cheek. She had other goals. Kurome was just following Akame out of devotion. But maybe this was an opportunity in disguise, "As members of Night Raid, will we have access to all of your records and contacts?"

Rokugoh was surprised, "Of course."

She looked back at Kurome's pleading look and the expectant Night Raid members. She sighed in defeat, "I'll join."

Rokugoh relaxed, "Then it's settled. Welcome to Night Raid, Akame and Kurome."

Congratulations came from everybody, but the one who was loudest was Nyau. Nyau cheered, "Wow! Your plan worked, Cece!" Chelsea put a finger to her mouth to signal Nyau to shut up but he kept going, "All you had to do was give those fake Wild Hunt members the location on Kurome and everything fell into place!" Daidara put a hand on Nyau's mouth two seconds too late.

Everybody stared at Chelsea. Akame unsheathed Kiriichimonji and said expressionlessly, "You."

"Let's not jump to conclusions here."

Akame lunged at Chelsea, "You got my sister kidnapped." Chelsea jumped out of Kiriichimonji's way.

"Well, who hasn't been kidnapped at least once?" Chelsea dodged another one of Akame's swings, this time too close for comfort.

Rokugoh nodded at Natala and he nodded back. He pulled out his spear and extended it to its full length; just in time to block Akame's katana centimeters from Chelsea's head.

"Akame, stop," Rokugoh commanded. Akame obeyed and pulled back her katana. Chelsea exhaled: she was safe.

"Chelsea," Rokugoh clasped his hands together, "Explain yourself before I give Akame permission to kill you."

Chelsea gulped, "Okay. Well, one of our contacts lived in a town you visited once. He mentioned a girl who single handedly took down a group of bandits who were terrorizing the townspeople and disrupting the trading system. After some research, we found out that girl was you. I thought you would make a nice addition to our group." Akame remembered those bandits. She had made sure they got everything they had coming to them.

Wave shouted, "Kurome could have been seriously hurt!"

Chelsea shrugged, "What is life without risk? Especially for the people in the killing business." "Plus, I'm not the only guilty one here. Nyau and Daidara helped me."

Daidara paled and Nyau pouted, "Cece threw us under the merchant's cart!" And then they both took off before Akame could attack them.

Rokugoh tapped the arm of his throne, "Do you still want to kill her, Akame?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sis, it's okay. She meant well," Akame gave Kurome a look of disbelief, "Kind of. But I forgive her, so you can forgive her too."

Akame sheathed the katana and looked at the remaining members of Night Raid. Their expressions varied from annoyed to disappointed. Akame bowed her head, "Starting off our first day like this is distasteful. I apologize."

Chelsea waved it off, "No big deal." She flipped her hair, "I admit, I was partially at fault."

Liver smirked, "That must have hurt." Chelsea blew a raspberry at him.

Rokugoh smiled, everyone was getting along now. Taking the next course of action he made an announcement, "I believe the best course of action is to have Akame alternate partners, while Kurome is given a permanent mentor.

"Akame, for the moment, Seryu will be your partner."

Seryu saluted, "I will not fail, Commander Rokugoh!" She grabbed Koro by the collar and Akame by the arm, "Come on!" Seryu pulled both Koro and Akame out of the room.

"Wave," Wave stood up taller and awaited orders from Rokugoh, "You are in charge of Kurome."

"I hope we'll get along." He held out his hand for a handshake. Instead, Kurome hugged him, "So cool! I've never had a teacher before."

Liver crossed his arms, "Take care of her, Wave. You don't want to end up like Chelsea."

"Hey," Chelsea threw a punch at Liver, which he caught with ease. He then twisted her arm causing her to scream. Rokugoh sighed, "I swear, every time."

Kurome grinned. She had finally met a group of interesting people. She was not going to be bored here!

. . .

Seryu and Akame hiked through the mountains with straw baskets on their backs. Koro sat in Seryu's basket while drinking a glass of lemonade. Akame gritted her teeth. She didn't know she could hate something to much, so quickly. She needed something to distract her. Akame found herself questioning Seryu, "What is your opinion on Night Raid?"

Seryu marched on, "We fight for justice!"

"Justice?"

"Yeah! To be a killer, you need to have justice. It's how you know who the evildoers are and who are the innocent," she punched her fist in the air.

Akame fought the urge to scoff, "Who told you that?"

"My papa." Seryu's smile didn't falter, but her tone seemed sad a bit sad when she said "papa". Akame surmised that Seryu's father was dead. Akame didn't press the matter any further. She remembered how she felt when somebody innocently asked her 'How are your parents?' and she would always say 'Dead.' She did not want to put Seryu through that pain if she could help it. Koro, however...

"Here we are!"

They had stopped at the top of a cliff. A waterfall led into the lake below. The view rivaled that of Natala's garden. Seryu and Akame put down their baskets. Koro hopped out of Seryu's basket with the lemonade glass still in his paws before he promptly devoured the glass. Even Akame couldn't do that. Seryu kicked off her shoes, "Today, we are catching Koga tuna for dinner."

Koga tuna: the elusive fish that are very difficult to find and even harder to catch. But their taste made the effort worth wild. Akame started to drool, "Understood."

Then Seryu dived off the edge with Koro in pursuit. A huge fish soon shot out of the water and landed in Seryu's basket. Akame licked her lips. The fish was still alive for now, but with one quick movement she could turn that fish into sushi. Before she could eat the fish, Seryu and Koro jumped back onto the cliff from the water. Wait. What? Akame was starting to doubt the humanity of the auburn haired girl.

Koro shook off the water from his fur and, as a result, sprayed Akame. She glared at the dog. Seryu twisted her hair and water dripped onto the grass, "Your turn. Be quick and conceal your presence from the fish."

Akame turned her gaze down at the water below. The fish were her new targets, "I will eliminate all of the underwater prey."

. . .

Rokugoh sat at the head of the table. All of the members of Night Raid, excluding Akame, were either staring in amazement or eating the Koga tuna, "In the end, Akame caught over a dozen fish before Seryu could catch half the amount."

Seryu hugged Koro tighter than usual and puffed out her cheeks, "It's not my fault that Koro kept eating all of the fish." Koro looked offended by his owner's comment.

Akame walked out of the kitchen, her hair in a ponytail and an apron on, she carried a plate of fried fish and set it in front of Rokugoh, "Food."

Rokugoh took a bite of the fish. He smiled, "Thank you, Akame." Akame nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

"I knew you could do it, Sis!"

Wave tried not to wonder why Kuromini had her own miniature table and chair set up on the table. She's your new partner, he thought. Say something to her! He smiled at Kurome, "You think highly of your sister, don't you?"

Apparently, that was the right question to ask because Kurome's face brightened, "Sis is the strongest person you will ever meet." She took a sip of her fruit juice through her twisty straw, "Everybody used to think so."

Wave smiled. She was talking back to him, now all he had to do was keep the conversation going, "Used to? What happened?"

Kurome bit her lip and stared longingly at Kuromini, "Our parents died when we were kids. Everybody thought she did it, but the evidence was... inconclusive."

"Oh." Dammit, Wave mentally kicked himself, she's depressed now, "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories."

"No. It's okay. And it doesn't matter. Sis did something that day that saved my life. She'll always be a hero to me."

Wave was afraid to ask after what happened the last time her asked Kurome a question. But he somehow managed to say, "What did she do?"

Maybe it was a trick of the light, or the Koga tuna was getting to him, but Wave thought he saw Kurome smirk, "Sis cut off the mean man's hand."

End

Chapter Two-Part One

Chapter Two-Part Two:

To Be a Killer

Seryu: I killed everybody.

Akame: You have brought this on yourself.

Wave: Protecting the powerless is simply a soldier's duty.

Chelsea: Tragic, ain't it?

Natala: There are penalties.

Kurome: This is ridiculous.

Rokugoh: There is no guarantee you will come back alive.