The sound of birds chirping in the trees were disrupted by the roar of a large quadrupedal creature, searching for suitable prey among the wild. The sun was shining bright, but it didn't distract the creature in any way.

The creature resembled a lion with yellow fur and a mane, had two large horns growing out of its forehead, and three red eyes. The creature was a Class 2 Danger Beast, a Jackaleo. It slowly roamed the forest, looking for its next lunch. Scanning the trees around it, it was dissappointed by the lack of potential prey that could satisfy its stomach.

Unbeknownst to the beast, another being was silently observing the beast from above, hidden among the branches. The being in question was a girl no older than 15, observing the Jackaleo like a predator would be watching its prey.

The girl was wearing a dark red hooded cloak which covered her appearance. Underneath her cloak was a worn grey blouse and black skirt with red vertical stripes, with a pair of dark grey jeans underneath. She also wore a pair of brown boots and her raven hair was tied with a pink ribbon like a ponytail, to complete her look.

Slowly unsheathing a pair of daggers from her back, Naoki waited for the right moment to attack the Jackaleo. She kept a steady breath, her eyes remaining fixated on the Danger Beast, her body completely static so as to not make any sounds. The Beast unwarily moved under the tree she was hiding in, the beast's head just under her feet.

She leapt.

Pushing the daggers right into its back, the Jackaleo roared in pain from the surprise attack, and frantically moved about to remove the attacker riding its back. Naoki kept her daggers within and tightened her grip, while struggling to remain on top of the beast. The Danger Beast suddenly twisted its body rapidly, causing the daggers to dislodge themselves from its behind, surprising the girl. The sudden inertia caused her to fly off the beast's back and eventually hit a tree behind her with tremendous force.

"GAAGH-HK!!" Feeling blood in her mouth, Naoki tried her best to remain conscious, still holding her daggers tightly. She gritted her teeth in pain, but she tried to ignore it. Her vision has gotten a bit blurry, but she could still make out the shape of a certain Danger Beast, coming towards her.

Reacting on instinct, she rolled away to the side to dodge the incoming attack, and immediately stood up and slashed one of its legs. The beast roared once more before delivering another swipe of its claws, which she safely dodged in time. However, she failed to see another incoming slash from the beast, and could only block the claws with her daggers. The force of the attack was so strong it took her off her feet and forced her onto the ground.

Struggling to lift herself up once more, she saw the beast leaping onto her, jaws wide open. Her eyes widened in shock. Her daggers were on the ground. She couldn't move fast enough.

She heard a gush of wind, and the Jackaleo's head was detached from its body. Its corpse flew right pass her and touched the solid ground. The beast's blood was spattered on her face, but she didn't react to it. Rather, her eyes were focused on the presence of a familiar yellow-eyed swordsman.

As she continously stared into the man's eyes, she had a sudden realization, and looked down in shame.

Kai looked at the girl while remaining silent. It was her first time taking on a Class 2 Danger Beast. Perhaps he shouldn't have expected too much from her yet.

It had been a week since their first meeting, and since then, Kai had been teaching Naoki how to handle a weapon and survive in the wild. She needed to learn how to handle with wild animals before she could consider taking on human opponents.

Her clothing, which he bought from the capital with what money he had left while he was avoiding the imperial police, were now dirty and stained with blood. It didn't matter, he could always just clean it at the river.

"I...I'm too weak." Her sudden statement surprised Kai, though he didn't show it.

"I...I'm still too weak...if I can't even kill an animal, how am I...how am I going to fight back the Empire like this!?" She tried her best to hold back her tears, an effort which failed miserably.

She could see the faces of her loved ones, her parents and her grandmother, everytime she sleeps. She promised to herself that she would do whatever it takes to exact her vengeance on the tower of filth that is the capital. She was no longer the innocent child of a merchant living a normal life. She wasn't afraid to stain her hands with blood if it meant vanquishing her thirst for vengeance. But her lack of proficiency in combat made that dream seem too good to be true.

A warm touch suddenly stopped her sobbing, as she felt Kai's hand patting her on the head. He was much taller than she was, so it was easy for him to do so. Her amber eyes, still watery, looked up to see the usual blank stare from the swordsman, except this time it was different. His eyes held a look of sympathy. She eventually formed a weak smile on her face, slowly pushing the swordsman's hand away.

"I'm...I'm okay." Naoki tried to convince the swordsman that she was no longer emotionally damaged, although the swordsman wasn't that easily fooled. He patted her head once more to her annoyance, but this time, she didn't do anything to resist.

"Am I...ever going to be strong enough?" Her question carried a sorrowful tone. She wasn't sure if her daily training would prove to be fruitful. She had gone through hardships in her life, but this was the first time she had to fight like her life depended on it.

"You will."

Kai's answer surprised her, but she immediately held a warm smile on her face. He might've just said it to ease her, but it didn't matter anyway. It was good enough.

-

The sun was setting, the skies were turning dark, and the sound of clashing of metals echoed throughout the forest. A dozen blows were dealt, all of them parried. The two combatants were locked in a deathly stare. However, only one of them was breathing heavily.

Naoki held her twin daggers in a defensive stance. She was sweating heavily, but her will to continue training overpowered her own tiredness. Kai however, was standing calmly while holding his sword, its crimson blade pointed towards the girl. He flicked its blade a little, displaying a gesture of calling her out, taunting her to attack. She gritted her teeth in frustration, and moved forward to deliver a horizontal slash with both her daggers, an act that was blocked by Kai's sword. She spun around to deliver another slash towards his feet. He merely jumped backwards to avoid, delivering a kick towards her body while in the air and landing on both feet afterwards.

The force of the kick caused Naoki to stumble backwards, but she regained her footing. She moved in while jumping in the air to deliver a powerful downward slash, while Kai merely sidestepped to the left. She expected his move, however, and landed on her hands while immediately spinning her right foot towards where Kai was standing, in an attempt to make him fall over. Unfortunately for her, her attack was too easy for Kai to spot, and he jumped backwards again outside of her range.

Naoki hurriedly regained her stance, but she failed to foresee the incoming palm strike directed by Kai towards her chest. A single thrust and she was pushed backwards, falling on the ground on her rear. Her fatigue was distracting her movements, but she tried to stand back up anyway. Seeing the silent swordsman in a passive stance while calmly watching her with his sword on his shoulder made her pout in annoyance. She knew he was just playing around, while she was trying her best to win this fight like her life depended on it.

She moved to attack again, but she was stopped by Kai's sudden gesture, holding his palm with his fingers pointing upwards, a sign that he wanted to stop the training. He had even sheathed his sword. She took the moment to finally catch her breath, while sheathing her daggers.

Her expression was grim. He had managed to hit her over dozens of times, and she couldn't even land a single scratch on his clothes. The purpose of the training was to make her skilled enough to at least be able to land a scratch on him, but he was too fast. In a real fight to the death, he could've killed her within the first three seconds.

A right hand was placed on her head, causing her to look up in surprise. Naoki was greeted with the sight of Kai's blank expression, although what caught her attention was his left hand with its thumb outwards motioning to the river nearby. She knew what he meant. All the training had made her sweat a lot and her clothes were all dirty from the number of times she kissed the ground thanks to Kai.

_

Feeling the cold water, Naoki dipped a bucket into the river and gently poured the water all over her untied hair and body. The cold river water didn't bother her all that much, as she had grown used to it. She was only in her undergarments, her fair skin, moderately sized chest and the rest of her body was unprotected from the soft breeze of the forest. Usually, she would be embarrassed, taking a bath out in the open where anyone passing by could accidentally see her, but right now, she couldn't help but feel secure, possibly thanks to Kai.

Naoki's face suddenly went to a shade of red. She remembered that Kai was still a male, and the thought that he might be able to see her half-naked caused her to blush. Her amber eyes immediately darted towards the silent swordsman, who was...sitting on a large chunk of rock and staring into oblivion, like a statue.

For some reason, Naoki felt...dissappointed. Yes, perhaps she hadn't grown into a fine woman yet, but it hurt her a bit that Kai wouldn't even take a peek at her considering she was practically in her underwear. Was she really that unattractive?

She realized how ridiculous her thought was, and immediately dismissed it. Her blush covering her face became redder. What was she thinking? It's supposed to be a good thing that he didn't try to peek at her like a pervert. Maybe he was just being a gentleman? Or maybe, he swings the other way-no, this wasn't right. She shouldn't be thinking about this right now. She hastily poured another bucket of water over her head, trying to finish her bath as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Kai was, sitting on a rock, while staring into oblivion, like a statue. At least, that's what it would seem like to a normal person.

What he was actually doing was scanning the area around them, looking for any signs of Danger Beasts, or other potential hostiles. The meat that he was cooking at the campfire would take a while to finally be edible, so he decided to take the time to scout the forest in front of him. So far, nothing interesting had caught his eyes. Had he really killed every single Danger Beast living here during the whole time they were staying? That's too bad. Shinku was craving for more blood.

His eyes darted towards towards the capital, far in the horizon. The night was coming. That meant they might also show up.

Night Raid.

Kai wasn't sure if it was time to meet them again. If he was going to the capital, he might have to bring Naoki close by his side as well. But then again, chances are he might ended up fighting them instead, and he wouldn't want to risk Naoki getting hurt. The girl could barely defend herself against a Danger Beast, much less a highly skilled assassin, assuming they would consider her a potential target.

But staying here wasn't much safer either. Who knows what creatures could be lurking when he wasn't around. There's also the fact that their location could easily be attacked by bandits and possibly Imperial scouts, which would attract the attention of the Empire, and he didn't want that. At least, not yet.

He dismissed the thought. He looked back at Naoki, who had now finished her bath and were dressing up inside their tent. He already failed to save her parents. In a way, he felt responsible. She needed to know how to fight. She might want to join the Revolutionary Army he'd been hearing about, considering her opinion on the Empire, but he wasn't sure if military life would actually be suited for her. Although that didn't mean he's going to stop her should the time comes.

Which was exactly why he knew he had to at least be on equal terms with Night Raid. Their relationship with the Revolutionary Army might prove to be beneficial. But if he wanted to ensure her safety, he needed to find Night Raid first.

Kai eventually made up his mind. He dropped down from the rock and returned to the fire. He saw Naoki sitting there, now wearing an extra set of clothes that he got for her. She was wearing a white blouse and a red skirt, along with a pair of brown sandals. Cutting up some of the roasted meat which had been salted courtesy of Naoki, the two indulged in their simple but fulfilling dinner.

_

Finishing his meal, Kai looked towards Naoki's direction, who was still enjoying her salted meat. She looked towards him in confusion.

"Something wrong?"

Kai answered her question with a simple gesture of pointing at himself with his thumb, then pointing his index finger outwards towards the forest. It clicked onto Naoki's mind what he meant by that. Sometimes he would go out by himself far away to hunt Danger Beasts, or go back to the capital to get supplies for themselves. He wanted to leave, and he was asking her to stay behind again.

Naoki narrowed her eyes, displaying a hint of melancholy. He was just trying to keep her safe, she knew that. But she just wished he would take her to wherever he was going, just so she could at least have some more experience, instead of just staying back and training.

"Be safe, okay?" Her words were short and simple, but held a deep meaning. Kai simply nodded, informing her that he understood, before leaping into the forest, leaving her in the dust.

She wasn't mad that he would just leave like that. She just hoped this would be the last time.

_

At the top of a watchtower, a lone swordsman stood, watching over the sprawling collection of buildings and streets in front of him. Most of the civilians have already gone to their beds, which meant less chance of having witnesses.

Kai held his attention towards an interesting scen far from where he was. It was a good thing he chose to go the capital this time. Otherwise, he would've missed this.

His hunches were right. Once again, he had found Night Raid. And it just so happened to be someone he knew.

Focusing his eyesight, he could see a young brown-haired boy with a sword fighting against a large muscular man with strange fashion sense. He wasn't sure if wearing a huge creepy eyeball as a headwear was the new trend nowadays. The brown-haired boy, Tatsumi wasn't it? He seemed to be at a disadvantage against the large man armed with blades seemingly coming out of his arms.

Tatsumi had already sustained several slash wounds on his body, yet he remained firm in a defensive position. He must have been mocking the man, because the large man was about to retort in anger, when all of a sudden, his expression shifted, to that of a smile.

What surprised him, however, was when the man suddenly turned his gaze on him, meaning the man somehow managed to spot him from far away, and he was pretty sure he hid his own presence quite well. The man was moving his mouth and body in a way that indicated he was taunting him, asking him to join the party.

Oh well, no use trying to hide anymore.

_

Akame had a terrible feeling.

Looking into the red moon, she had a feeling that Tatsumi might be in trouble. She didn't know how, but her honed instincts were rarely wrong. But she didn't know where he could be.

She leapt up the walls and towards the rooftop. Leaping from building to building, her vision scanned every observable location where her partner potentially could be.

Hearing the faint sounds of blades clashing, her attention darted towatowards an open field, where two silhouttes were fighting against one another, and from the looks of it, one of them was losing.

Taking a closer look, she recognized one of them as Tatsumi, who seened to be badly wounded and were holding his own against a large man in a grey coat and a strange looking eyeball on his forehead. There was no doubt about it. This was Zank the Executioner.

She could clearly see Tatsumi was badly wounded, however he still had the guts to taunt the Executioner. Zank held a look of anger. He was going to attack, she knew it.

But just as she were about to throw Murasame, she saw Zank suddenly stopping, and looking at another direction. He suddenly started taunting someone who wasn't there. Or that's what she initially thought. Another silhoutte leapt from a watchtower far away and across rooftops, and landed in front of the rest. Her eyes widened once she realized who it was.

_

"My, my, another one? I know you're there, young man. Why don't you come down here!? After all, the more, THE MERRIER!!" Zank the Executioner shouted at the top of his lungs towards the air with his arms wide open, for some reason. At least, that's what Tatsumi was seeing.

'What the hell is this guy up to?' He thought to himself. Looking in the direction the Executioner was facing, Tatsumi was curious by the appearnace of another stranger coming from the rooftops, and making his way towards twhere they stood. Only when the stranger finally landed in front of them from the sky, did Tatsumi finally recognize the stranger in front of him. The first person he had met throughout everything that had happened in the capital.

"What the...Kai!?"

_

Landing in front of the two, Kai observed Tatsumi's condition, then towards the strange man with the green eyeball. He didn't recognize the man, but he could tell he had skill, and his aura seemed reminiscent of a merciless killer.

"Oh? So you do not know who I am? What a surprise indeed!! Well, no matter, young man. You may call me...Zank the Executioner!!"

The man's statement, who he now know as Zank the Executioner, caused Kai to raise an eyebrow. How did the man know he didn't know who he was? Almost as if-

"-I was reading your mind? Is that what you thought?" The man known as Zank managed to guess his line of thought.

Now both of his eyebrows were raised. So he can read minds. That was definitely a first for him. But how? Maybe that weird eyeball thing wasn't just for show.

"Bingo!!! That's right, young man! The Imperial Arm, known as Spectator!! One of its five visionary powers, Insight, allows me to read my opponent's mind!!"

Imperial Arm? What the heck is that?

...

"Oh? You don't know what an Imperial Arm is? How interesting indeed..." Zank let out a small chuckle. Tatsumi gritted his teeth, trying not to succumb to the wounds, but what the Executioner said did surprise him. For someone as skilled as Kai, someone who could go toe-to-toe with Akame, to not know about Teigus seemed almost impossible.

Tatsumi's line of thought was broken by a blur coming towards Zank the Executioner from behind, however Zank managed to evade it by jumping away. That blur turned out to be his partner.

"Akame!!" Tatsumi shouted. However, Akame wasn't focused at him. Rather, she was focused at the silent swordsman. The person she had been trying to find since they first met. His usual blank stare gave her a decent flashback, but she immediately dismissed it. Shifting her eyes, she decided to deal with him later, as her mission to eliminate the Executioner comes first.

Zank the Executioner looked at his new opponent, and smirked. "Ho-hoh!! You thought that I didn't see your attack coming? The infamous Akame and her enchanted sword, the One-Cut Killer: Murasame!! Splendid..splendid. I've been wanting to meet you." Throwing his coat to the air, the Executioner prepared himself against one of Night Raid's most feared member.

"Akame!! Watch out, that guy could read minds!!!" Tatsumi burted out towards his partner. Akame narrowed her eyes. "So that is the power of Spectator. But even if he can read my thoughts, it makes no difference, if he can't counter them!!"

Moving forward at a blinding speed, Akame attacked Zank the Executioner, and exchanged powerful blows with his blades. A series of clashes later, and Akame had figured out that this man had been to numerous battles before. With every strike she delivered, he would block it and attack her at every opening he could find. She decided to break up the distance, and spun around to deliver a powerful kick which sent the Executioner far away.

'With him being able to read my mind, we are evenly matched. If so...' Akame cleared her mind from everything alse in an attempt to get rid of Zank's advantage over her.

Zank noticed this, but his grin didn't go away. "Oh? You've entered a state of nothingness? Not bad, but my Spectator can use Precognition. Judging by the movement of your muscles, you next move will be-" Holding his blade up, he managed to block Akame's attack, which surprises her greatly.

"I see it!" Swiping his blade downward, Akame barely dodged a powerful slash from the Executioner. She didn't escape unharmed, however, as a small wound formed on her left thigh. Akame slightly faltered, but held strong. This man was not to be underestimated.

Zank remained grinning towards his opponent. He knew that he had the upper hand in this fight. What he failed to notice, however, was that there was another threat aiming for him.

"Huh!?" Barely blocking an attack from the young man who showed up earlier, Zank looked towards his new opponent and examined him. Aside from his strange yellow eyes, he didn't see anything alse unusual about his appearance. However, his sword...he had never seen such a strange looking blade.

Zank slashed forward with both his blades from both sides, forcing his opponent to move back. He couldn't read the young man's mind, meaning he had cleared his mind just like Akame did.

"Not bad, young man. Attacking me out if the blue when I was too busy paying attention at my other enemy. Are you also a Impe-" Another slash coming from the young man cut off his sentence too early and caused him to dodge the attack.

The man spun around and brought his crimson sword forth to deliver a series of powerful continous blows which forced Zank on the defensive. Zank responded with another horizontal slash, but ended up hitting the air. He realized the man moved to behind him, and parried an incoming blow towards his head. He jumped backwards narrowly dodging a wide horizontal slash aimed towards his feet, then sidestepping a forward thrust towards his chest, a slight scratch formed on his shirt. Thinking he saw an opportunity to attack, Zank was once again forced to dodge when the man spun around and delivered a powerful upward slash stunning him with the sheer power of the attack, and backflipped while throwing his sword towards him while in the air, all that action in such a short time he could barely predict it with his Spectator and have the time to counteract.

Dodging the sword flying towards his head, Zank looked back at the young man. He couldn't help but grin at the stupidity of his opponent's action. "Throwing your weapon towards me? A brilliant move and stupid move, for how are you going to fight me barehanded now?" The man's response, completely shocked him, as he did not expect it at all.

The man simply held up his palm in the air, and the crimson bladed sword flew back towards his open palm, almost like magic. The blade also looked a little different, now that its crimson colour was a much brighter shade, and it seemed almost...glowing?

"W-what? That's no normal weapon, isn't it? Oh, quite interesting indeed. You claim not to know anything about Imperial Arms, young man, yet you clearly possess one. Two Imperial Arm users at once, oh how splendid!!" Zank grinned widely. He knew this man was no pushover, but he still couldn't figure out what Imperial Arm the man was holding.

Meanwhile, Tatsumi and Akame merely stood by and watched as the mute swordsman suddenly attacked Zank the Executioner, and actually managed to put him on the defensive. The little display that he did also did not go unnoticed. Akame narrowed her eyes. A normal weapon couldn't simply fly back to its wielder like that. So the man was indeed another Imperial Arm user. But what about the bit that Zank said? How could one be an Imperial Arm user and not know anything about Imperial Arms in general? She ended up with more questions than initially.

Zank decided to break the silence with a peculiar question. "I do not know you, but you seem to possess the eyes of someone who has killed, am I right? So tell me, young man, how do you deal with the voices?"

'Voices?' Akame thought to herself. What does the man mean by that?

"...I got used to it."

The answer surprised everyone, because it came from the mouth of the silent swordsman, who until now, had never spoken once.

["How do you deal with the voices?"] Zank's question was unexpected by Kai. 'So I wasn't the only one.'

But he knew the answer to it. He had been hearing voices ever since he took his first life with Shinku in his hands, years ago. The voices of every single person whose life was slain by him, voices of those whose blood had touched his blade. He had learnt to live with them, and eventually ignore them. He still hear them everytime he closed his eyes, but he was no longer bothered by them.

"...I see. So you hear them too? A shame, I could never get used to it. No matter how many medicines I took, how many bottles of alcohol I drank, I could never be able to get rid of them, much less get used to them. I thought I could talk this out with you. But it seems this is my burden alone...how depressing!!!" Activating his Spectator, Zank cast an illusion on the young man.

Kai stopped dead in his tracks. His expression remained blank, but his mind was at a loss.

He saw the figure of a person whom he cherished.

A person whom he once looked up to.

A person whom he had not seen for so long.

A person who was the only family he still had.

A person, whose very presence, made his blood boil.

_

Zank the Executioner grinned widely. He knew that his Illusion Sight was working. He was now at an adv-CLANNGG

The sound of clashing metals broke his line of thought. His eyes widened in surprise. He barely managed to block a surprise attack from the swordsman. He saw the swordsman's eyes, and he could feel the rage burning within.

'What the hell!? H-he didn't even falter!!?'

"WHY!!? YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN THE PERSON YOU LOVE THE MOST!!!"

"...I did."

'What?'

"...and I loathed him."

'WHAT?' Zank was at a loss. 'How could you love someone and hate them at the same time? Just what the hell did that guy see!?'

His train of thought came to a halt, when the swordsman became a blur, and Zank barely had time to block his attack. The swordsman dissappeared from his field of vision, then in less than a split second, another slash came, then came another, and another. It was like he was nowhere, and yet everywhere. Every single strike had more and more power, until shockwaves formed with each time their blades clash against one another. Even with Spectator, Zank was having a harder time trying to block his attacks. The swordsman was fast. Too fast. He cannot die now. He won't.

He heard a gush of wind, and he suddenly lost the feeling in his hands.

'What?'

Another gush of wind, and he felt pain in his neck.

Falling to his knees, the man known as Zank the Executioner had lost. His hands, detached from the rest of his arms fell to the ground. His blades, which were breaking apart, finally fell to pieces. He fell to the floor, drowning in his own blood.

Kai simply stood in silence. He was drawing heavy breaths. He had shown a bit too much emotion than usual this time. The sword in his tight grip was glowing like the surface of a river under the moonlight. He knew what he saw earlier was just an illusion. But his feelings had never been more real.

"Aahh...the voices...they were gone..." Zank the Executioner drew his final breath as he held a look of content, the last thing he will ever feel.

Sheathing his blade, Kai looked back, and was greeted with the sight of Tatsumi, now back up on his feet with his eyes widened, and the assassin, Akame, holding her sword pointing towards him with a hint of hostility in her stance.

He contemplated his thoughts.

He knew that the assassin wouldn't just let him walk away easily. She wouldn't give up like last time. He'll have to convince her as a friend, or they might end up as foes.

He also knew he had a lot of explaining to do, something that he doesn't really like doing. That would mean he had to talk. A lot.

He looked up at the night sky, the bright red moon shining bright in the sea of darkness. He wondered how Naoki was doing right now. He just hoped he wasn't away for too long.

Well, the night is still long.

_

Author's Note

So, a wave of inspiration suddenly hit me, and this chapter ended up much longer than I thought. But I guess that's a good thing, right? Man, I need a break. It's like 3 am where I live and I really need some sleep.

If the fight scene wasn't that good, well I apologize. I don't have that much experience. But I hope it's at least decent. Also, some of the main characters might've also felt OOC, again, I apologize for that.

To be honest, the relationship between Kai and Naoki in this story is mostly influenced by the relationship between the characters of Tanjirou and his sister, Nezuko from Kimetsu no Yaiba. The only thing I did differently are their personalities: Kai was the silent one, while Naoki was emotionally the more expressive one. Plus, both my OCs aren't blood-related or anything, which means there could be a chance for a pairing, so feel free to ship.

There might be some more OCs that I might bring in future chapters, and more new backgrounds and variables past the source material. I'm sticking with the storyline from the anime for now, but I might consider adding some elements from the manga as well.

Thanks for reading.