Chapter 4

If there was one thing Minosha learned in the three years after the attack on his village, it was that there was a huge difference between flying on something with wings and flying with your own wings. Flying on something wasn't necessarily bad, but the fact that if something happened to whatever you were flying on would result in your death wasn't really all that nice to think about. Flying with your own wings; well, that was just freedom in its purest form.

Minosha inhaled deeply, his eyes closed against the cool wind hitting his face. That being said; he did think the air manta was pretty cool.

Cooler than me? Evangeline mused.

He huffed a silent chuckle, "Of course not."

"Woo! Awesome!" Tatsumi shouted exhilaratingly, waving his arms. "This feels great."

Chelsea, one of the newest members of Night Raid, giggled, "You're so pure that it's hard to think you're a killer, Tatsumi. You're an interesting guy."

Leone chuckled behind Minosha where she sat with Akame, "This is more fun that I thought."

"It's fun," Akame nodded in agreement. Mine and Lubbock were green as they held in their vomit from being so high up.

It wasn't long before the air manta descended to the ground. They all hopped off while Najenda stepped forward, shouldering a pack full necessities. Minosha gazed around, noticing how only birds could find the area, "It's an unexplored region."

Najenda smiled, "It's because it's unexplored that it's perfect for hiding." She turned to them, "Currently, in order to find us a fitting place for a new base, the Revolutionary Army's reconnaissance team is searching around the capital. Until then, we're going to level up here."

Minosha blinked when a harsh burst of air hit his back, ruffling his cloak. He grunted silently, fixing his hood. He glanced up, gazing at the retreating air manta. He wondered where it was going.

"It left," Mine commented as she watched the air manta leave. "Is that okay? We left the gathered teigus on it."

Najenda nodded, "Since it's a valuable vehicle, we can't be monopolizing it."

"It probably departed for the Revolutionary Army's headquarters, where it's nest is. It also becomes an automatic delivery that way," Chelsea informed. She laughed mockingly at Mine, "Mine, you don't even know that?"

Mine clenched her fist angrily as she glared at the girl. Minosha coughed lightly, covering his chuckle. Tatsumi frowned lightly, "Couldn't we ride one of those and rush into the capital's palace that way?"

"Impossible," Akame shot down his idea. "The airspace above the palace has danger beasts that have been tamed with teigu."

Tatsumi's face fell, "Their defenses at least are completely impassable, aren't they…"

"Well," Najenda spoke up. "I've arranged it so our ride home will come once the heat's died down in the capital. So relax." She inhaled lightly, "Now, once again, I'll introduce the new members. First up, is…huh?" She stared confusedly at the spot where Chelsea once was.

They turned around to find Chelsea holding a lock of Akame's hair. The auburn haired girl smiled as she petted Akame's hair, "Akame, you're really cute when I take a look up close."

Akame blushed, shifting under the hands on her head, "What're you doing out of nowhere?"

"I'm Chelsea," The older girl greeted, the lollipop in her mouth dangling on her teeth. "Let's all be friends, as fellow killers." She held out a lollipop for Akame, "Here, I'll give you this."

Akame stared at the sweet with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth. She took the offered candy, speaking lowly, "I welcome you with open arms."

Tatsumi gasped in shock, "Akame just got fed something artificial."

"She was hungry from the long trip," Lubbock deduced in the same tone.

"But Chelsea…" Tatsumi mumbled, scratching the back. "Like, she doesn't look like any more of a killer than Mine and the others."

"Don't judge a book based on looks," Najenda reprimanded. "She's a person of remarkable talent who's gotten as many jobs done as Akame has."

Tatsumi glanced at Najenda in surprise. He glanced back at Chelsea who simply smiled around her lollipop. Minosha sighed, leaning against a tree. Though his body was used to running on little sleep, it didn't mean it was always in working condition. Right now, he was just so hungry and tired.

"And this is my new teigu which I received from the Revolutionary Army as a loan," Najenda piped up, gesturing to Susanoo. "Speed of Lightning Susanoo. Since he's an organism type that moves on his own, there's little burden on the user; even the current me can use him."

Tatsumi beamed as he held out his hand to the teigu, "Nice to meet you again."

Susanoo's eyes widened as he stared at Tatsumi for some reason. He bent down quickly, patting the frightened Tatsumi's hip. Once he deemed it finished, he shouted, "Alright!"

"He's unexpectedly a neat freak," Najenda coughed awkwardly.

"Even though he's a teigu," Mine muttered wryly. "He was fixing my hair too."

Leone spoke up from where she was perched on a rock, "And…more importantly, what's his ability? Is it just that he's strong in hand-to-hand combat?"

Najenda smirked wickedly as she chuckled lowly, "Let me show you. Prepared to be astonished." All of them, minus Chelsea, stared with anticipation. She shot her hand out to Susanoo, "Do it, Susanoo!"

Susanoo nodded firmly, "Understood." He brought out an axe and started taking down the trees. Once he made what he planned, he went on to cook a bird and rice.

"Well, it's pretty amazing, but what is this?" Lubbock deadpanned.

Tatsumi nodded shakily, pointing at the teigu, "It looks like he's doing household chores, but-"

"That's right!" Najenda shouted, cutting him off. She explained Susanoo's abilities passionately, "Susanoo is originally a teigu created for escorting important people. Along with his battle ability, he's fully equipped with the skill to do various household chores so he can be of use around the clock. Cleaning, laundry, whatever it may be. The repertoire of food he can cook numbers in the thousands."

"That has nothing to do with battle," Mine exclaimed aggravatingly.

"No, no! This is incredibly useful," Najenda waved her off. "Well of course, he has a trump card for battle as well. Right?"

"Yeah."

Najenda sighed, placing her hands on her hips, "Now that that's settled, let's start with the new member you guys brought in."

Tatsumi grinned, "Right." He went over to the silent Minosha, bringing him forward, "This is Minosha. He saved me from Esdeath."

"And killed that doctor," Najenda smiled. She held out her hand to the red head, "I hope you'll enjoy living with us, Minosha. You'll be a great asset to this team."

Minosha shook her hand with a small smile, "Thank you. I'll help in any way I can."

"How strong are you, exactly?"

"I assure you, I can hold my own very well in battle," Minosha answered, taking his hand back. "I've trained nonstop for 3 years after my village was destroyed along with my family. Esdeath and the Empire destroyed it and murdered everyone in it when I was 14."

Najenda's eye softened on the cloaked young man in front of her. She crossed her arms, "Why are you still alive?"

Minosha frowned at the memory of his fallen village, "Well, I was supposed to die. I was away from the village when the attack started. When I got there, she killed my brother right in front of me. She then went to tell me he died because he was weak. I…I spit in her face."

Najenda's lone eye widened while Leone snickered loudly behind him. Tatsumi stared at him as if he was wondering why he was still standing after that. Akame, Mine, and Lubbock stared at him in awe, Chelsea seemed amused, and Susanoo gazed blankly.

Minosha cleared his throat awkwardly, willing the heat away from his cheeks. He could hear Evangeline's giggles resonating through his mind. "Moving on," He said, in hopes that everyone would stop looking at him like that. "After I…attacked her, she cut my eye with her rapier, leaving me with this."

He lowered his hood and took off his headband, revealing the scar going down his eye. He continued, "Esdeath then had her soldiers tie me up and made me watch as they killed and tortured my fellow villagers. They…" He swallowed the lump in his throat, clenching his fists tightly. He felt his nails grow and prick at his gloved palms.

"They raped my mother right in front of me, and let her die slowly," He gritted his teeth, his eyes stinging with unshed tears as his canines grew. "Esdeath told her men not to kill me because she believed we'd see each other again."

Calm yourself, Minosha, Evangeline tried to sooth him. It's alright. Just calm down and explain everything to them. You need them to trust you.

Minosha breathed deeply, his teeth and nails going back to their original size. He wiped his nose as he turned his gaze back to Najenda, "I thought I was going to die. That's all I wanted to do after I saw my mother and brother dead. But, a mystical being came to me in the form of a phoenix. She told me that Esdeath has the blood of a demon who took the form of a beast in her. She needs him dead to bring him back to the afterlife. When she realized that I was willing to kill Esdeath if it was the last thing I would do on this earth, she merged with me. Her power is now my power, and it's the power I need to kill Esdeath."

It was news to them all. Najenda exchanged glances with Lubbock before turning back to the young man in front of her, "You're telling the truth?" At his nod, she frowned, "Well, where is this phoenix?"

"In here," Minosha moved his cloak, showing the mark of a phoenix on his chest. "And here." He opened his scarred eye, revealing its golden iris and slit pupil. "Her name is Evangeline, and she hears everything. She talks to me and I talk to her. She was the only person I knew for 3 years."

"So that's who you were talking to when you saved me," Tatsumi marveled, his fist placed in his hand as he realized what had gone on. He turned to his leader with a hopeful grin, "So, he's in, right Boss?"

Najenda kept her eyes on the red head before sighing, "I guess we'll need all the help we can get. Are you up for it?"

"If it leads me to Esdeath, I'm up for anything," Minosha gave a small grin.

"Right," Najenda nodded promptly, turning on her heel. "Now let's get inside. I'm sure you're all hungry."

Minosha flinched when he felt a burst of wind go past him. He turned around, taking note that Akame was gone. That girl must really love her food.

Moments later, they were gathered around the table, eating the stew Susanoo prepared. After they were finished, Leone laid in a hammock, Minosha leaned on the wall with Susanoo and Chelsea was busy riling up Mine.

Tatsumi sighed heavily, "I hope the capital's okay. We can't do anything for a while but…"

"It seems that the existence of the Jaegers is suppressing crime," Akame added. "With this, the villains won't be able to move much as they're accustomed."

Najenda nodded, "That's right. Let's take this chance to train. We can't assumed that we'll get any more reinforcements. Think of this as the last group of people with talent in Night Raid. Let's all complete missions, live on, and welcome the day of revolution."

Minosha gave a firm nod with the rest of the group; he was honestly liking them more and more as time went on.

The next few days consisted of training and hunting for food. Suu, Akame, and Minosha were very good at catching fish and any other animal close to the hide out. For 3 years, the red head lived off the fat of the land and never really got to eat prepared food that tasted so good. It was why he thought Suu's food was a delicacy. He wasn't the only one either.

Leone sighed happily once she finished her plate of the giant fish Akame and Suu caught, "Suu's food sure is good. The fatigue from training just flies away."

"Thanks, Suu," Akame smiled widely.

"Suu!" Tatsumi exclaimed, thrusting his key sword towards the organism teigu. "Let's do some training tomorrow."

Najenda chuckled lowly, "Like I said, Susanoo is amazing. Do you understand?"

"I'm surprised the Revolutionary Army lent you such an amazing teigu," Tatsumi stated.

"No," Najenda shook her head, taking a puff of her cigarette. "Until now, Susanoo was sleeping. But he started moving in response to me."

"Nice, boss," Akame complimented.

"Well, what it is…" Najenda spoke lowly, sparkles flying around her. "It must be…my charisma."

The rest of them stared blankly in silence. Suu broke it, "Najenda looks exactly like my old master."

"I see," Leone muttered.

"I'm sure she was a wonderful person," Najenda smiled.

"Why not tell us yourself?" Tatsumi asked the teigu.

Suu nodded, "Yeah." A beat passed before he shouted, "He was a wonderful general!"

"HE?!" Najenda screeched.

Tatsumi and Leone burst out in laughter, tears streaming down their faces. The blonde cackled, "She looks exactly like a man he says! As expected of our boss who's often called a hunk!"

Tatsumi shook his head with difficulty from his spouts of laughter, "S-sis, you can't laugh that much!"

A deadly atmosphere descended over them as Najenda stood of them. Seconds later, the two had bumps on their head while their leader scolded them. Minosha shook his head amusedly, the corners of his lips twitching as he fought off a smile.

Is this what a family is like? Evangeline spoke quietly as the two watched Chelsea showcase her teigu to rile Mine.

Minosha swallowed thickly, "Yeah. Kind of."

Days later, Minosha helped Night Raid take care of all the danger beasts that lurked around the hideout. It only took him a minute by himself to take out a horde of them. They were troublesome, but they weren't very strong.

He shook his head as he walked away. He flipped his sword in the air, letting it disappear in a flame. He walked into the house through the back, furrowing his brow when he noticed Chelsea leaning on the door with a downcast expression.

He frowned, "What's going on with you?"

Chelsea jumped, staring at him with wide red-brown eyes. She then schooled her expression, shaking her head, "It's nothing, Minosha."

"Doesn't look like nothing," He crossed his arms, keeping his gaze on her. "Why aren't you outside taking the piss out of Mine? Gotten tired already?"

The auburn haired woman chuckled, her lips finally coming up in a nice smile, "Oh never. She's too easy, honestly." She sighed lightly, shrugging as the smile faded from her lips, "I just think I should lay low for a bit. I did just insult them and their partners who died in battle."

Minosha closed his eye, his lips forming a tight line. "Yeah, if you insulted my family, I doubt you'd still be standing." He opened his eye, gazing at her solemn face, "What exactly did you say to them?"

"Oh, you know." She scuffed her boot on the ground, mumbling. "I told them that their past teammates were failures because they were too soft hearted. Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt."

"Maybe," Minosha shrugged. "Or maybe they needed to hear that." He chuckled at her skeptical expression, "Don't get me wrong; I think saying that was harsh. But it's a good reminder sometimes. Like Tatsumi, I was very innocent before the attack on my village. I always thought people didn't need to die; that there was always good in them."

His green eye hardened. "But I was wrong. Esdeath showed me that people are ruthless when they have power and will do anything to stand above a pile of ashes as long as someone called them their leader. I'm not that little boy anymore and I'm not soft hearted; not like I used to be."

His face then softened. "But, I also think the world needs soft hearted people." He thought back to his mother's kind eyes and his brother's grinning face. "Soft hearted people, whether killers or merely friends who have to stand on the sidelines, are the people who inspire the most courage in others. They inspire hope in others."

He shrugged at Chelsea's dubious eyes, "That's what I believe. I mean, if Scheele hadn't died, Mine wouldn't have wanted to get much stronger than she was to take out the girl who killed her. Scheele's death, though unnecessary beyond many reasons, was what lit the fire in Mine and made her the incredible sniper she is today.

"Bulat's death, while cruel and harsh, gave Tatsumi the will to live on and train to live up to his predecessor's name and make him proud. While he may be soft hearted, he knows what he has to do to make both of his fallen teammates proud," Minosha finished with a small smile.

He patted her shoulder as he walked past her. He grinned, "Don't frown, Chelsea. After all, those soft hearted assassins can't get you down, can they?" He laughed when she gave him a shove.

"Minosha." He paused at her voice, tilting his head towards her. "Your fallen village, your mother's death as well as your brother's; what do they inspire in you?"

He clenched his jaw, willing the tears away, "When they had first died, the only thing that went through my mind was wanting to go with them. I knew I was weak, and I wouldn't stand a chance against a monster like Esdeath."

He put a hand to his chest, smiling tremulously, "But since Evangeline came to me and I was able to grow stronger, the fall of my village and my family has given me the will to keep putting one foot in front of the other until Esdeath is dead. Then, I will know that they can finally rest in peace. And in the next world we're reborn into will be a much kinder place."

"You believe that?" Chelsea asked quietly.

He turned back to her, his smile soft now. "I guess I am a bit like the little boy I was before." He walked to his room with a lightened heart.

That night, after he finished eating with his new teammates, he dreamt of a world where his mother was alive and his brother still had the widest grin in town. He also dreamed that his new friends were there, and they weren't going anywhere any time soon.