Chapter 11

Kill Your Weakness

1 Week Later…

Kurome watched as Esdeath continued her training with Skyrah, who day after day, was beaten to a pulp by her new trainer. Her arms had grown back before they had even taken her out of the Capital, which was a surprise to even Esdeath herself. The girl had heart, not many people would come back again and again, knowing they were fighting someone they couldn't beat. It had been a full week since she had been captured, and had made multiple attempts to escape, but was captured each and every time.

"She's gotten a hang of keeping calm." Wave said, sitting beside Kurome and watching together. "Isn't that what Esdeath is trying to teach her?" He asked.

Kurome nodded. "I don't know why though, Esdeath is wasting her time." She said. "The girl won't break, we're not even allowed to torture her to get information on Night Raid." She explained.

Wave raised an eyebrow. "And her and your sister…"

"Shut up, Wave." Kurome said, looking up at him. "Don't talk about that." She said.

Kurome was more than angry that Akame had found someone intimate with her, it made her want to skin Skyrah alive, then show off her work to her sister. Back in the Capital when the two had fought, Akame didn't even pay any attention to their fight, and instead was worried about the girl.

"Sorry, sorry." He said, looking over to the two fighting girls and envisioning a late night with Skyrah and Akame, his mind wandering all kinds of places.

"You are so gross." Kurome said.

"What?" Wave asked, snapping back to reality. "What do you mean?"

"I saw that stupid look on your face, don't play dumb." She said with a frown.

Wave felt a blush come to his cheeks and turned away from Kurome again, looking back to the fight.

Skyrah dodged elegantly between Esdeath's attacks, throwing in small punches and kicks of her own when she saw openings, she had been hit only a few times, but she knew Esdeath was about ready to pound on her.

She had noticed a pattern in their sparring matches in the past week, she would start off slow, letting Skyrah warm up and would gradually pick up the pace, then suddenly she would get a strange look in her eye and just wail on her, not holding back her strength or speed.

Skyrah waited patiently for that look in her eyes to come back, she had been planning this all night, and now the time had finally come for her to try her plan.

There!

Esdeath began a volley of punches, but Skyrah leaned down, picking up a fistful of dirt and throwing it in Esdeath's face, catching her off guard and blinding her momentarily.

Skyrah took her opening and didn't hold back her strength, punching and kicking Esdeath, who couldn't correctly block any of her attacks and instead had to take the full force of each blow, to the head, chest, stomach, legs, it didn't matter, Skyrah connected with her target.

With the time she had left, Skyrah swept Esdeath's legs out from under her and kicked up dirt, masking her escape.

"Skyrah!" Esdeath called in frustration. "Get back here!"

Skyrah was on a dead sprint through the woods, ripping through the low hanging branches with minimal effort. It was about a minute before she reached a clearing, where a tall standing wall of ice stood.

"Alright, I have to do this fast." She told herself, walking up to the wall.

"Infinite Blitz." She said, feeling her arms change.

Skyrah looked down at her arms, then punched the wall, the piston fired, sticking into the ice a few inches.

"Perfect." She said with a smile.

Skyrah had been practicing this idea for a few days, if she could use the pistons as ice picks, she could climb the wall. She punched the wall with her other fist, and sure enough, the piston lodged itself into the wall. All she had to do was repeat the motion, and keep pulling herself up.

She had made it about halfway up the wall before Esdeath also reached the clearing, finding Skyrah immediately.

"Get down, dammit!" She shouted, making an ice pillar under her feet and reaching Skyrah's height within seconds.

Skyrah held her left arm deep within the ice wall and turned to the right, throwing her fist outwards, her reach stopping inches away from Esdeath's face, who grinned at her failure of an attack.

Skyrah also grinned, the piston on her right arm fired, hitting Esdeath right in the forehead and throwing her off the pillar of ice.

Esdeath hit the ground hard, her eyes were blurry from the powerful strike and she struggled to breathe because of her fall, which had knocked the wind out of her.

Wave and Kurome appeared in the clearing now too, seeing Skyrah and Esdeath.

Without looking back for them, Skyrah continued her climb up the wall, finally reaching the top and jumping over, running as fast as she could to get away.

She did it, she did everything correctly, her escape had been repeated over and over again in her head, and she actually did it! Esdeath hadn't seen her attack coming, and she got away without a scratch!

Skyrah smiled, closing her eyes and savoring her victory.

After finding a town or something, she would have to find her way back to the Capital, then could get back to the base without any trouble.

During her brief moment of glee, she failed to realize what she was about to run into.

She slammed into something and fell down, opening her eyes and being met with another wall of ice.

Skyrah was horrified, there was no way this was the same wall, so why was this one even here?!

"Gotcha."

Esdeath grabbed Skyrah from behind, slamming her head into the wall and throwing her to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Esdeath shouted at the girl on the ground. "You aren't going to escape us, and nobody can find us here. You are trapped." She said slowly, as if Skyrah wouldn't understand.

"Screw you." Skyrah said, trying to get to her feet but was met with a foot stomping down onto her stomach, keeping her on the ground.

"I'm trying to give you a home, a place where you can stay, a place better than with criminals!" Esdeath shouted, grinding her heel into Skyrah's stomach, making her cry out in pain. "Is this how you repay me for my kindness?!"

"Kindness?" Skyrah laughed. "What kind of home doesn't let people leave?" She asked.

Esdeath kicked Skyrah in the head. "I'm taking you back and you are going to bathe, you stink." She scoffed, picking the girl up and quickly making her way back to the base.

"You can bathe in the pond, as your punishment." Esdeath said, still angered.

Her three captors escorted her down to a large pond, where she was laid on the ground and given a towel and soap, then left.

"Wave, make sure she doesn't try to escape again." Esdeath sighed as she walked away.

Wave froze. "You want me to watch her while she bathes?"

Esdeath turned back. "Yes, is there a problem?" She asked, glaring at him.

"No, sorry ma'am." He said, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he turned to look at the slowly recuperating girl.

"Good." Esdeath and Kurome walked off, leaving Wave and Skyrah alone near the water.

Wave walked down the small slope to where Skyrah was getting to her feet, and offered her a hand to help.

"Get away from me." She said bitterly.

Wave pulled his hand away, a small frown appearing on his face. "You really need to at least try to stay here, it's not so bad with everybody, we're like a big family." He explained, getting a glare from the girl.

"I have a family, and this isn't it." She said, looking down towards the water.

"Night Raid is your family?" Wave asked. "I feel sorry for you."

Wave got the exact same look, but this time Skyrah walked up to him, her fists clenched. "Excuse me?" She asked in anger. "I feel sorry that you have to be with Kurome and Esdeath."

"Neither of them are that bad." Wave said.

"Kurome stabbed me through my chest, and Esdeath beats the hell out of me every day since I've gotten here." Skyrah said. "But no, they're great."

Wave sighed, sitting down. "Whatever, we won't agree on anything if you can't look at it from my perspective."

"How about you look at it from my perspective, you and Run seem like the only sane people here." Skyrah said. "I left this country for three years, then I came back and everyone I knew was either dead, or changed for the worse. Night Raid took me in and took care of me, it was difficult at first, but I eventually saw their ideals matched mine in one way or another." She explained, crossing her arms.

"All the Jaegers want to do is protect the Capital, Night Raid's rebellion only caused chaos inside the Capital." Wave argued.

"They caused chaos because they couldn't speak against the government, so they had to take it this twisted government by force, something most of them never wanted to do." Skyrah said, trying to make her point. "The Jaegers were protecting a corrupt government, not the people. If you were protecting the people, Wild Hunt never would have gotten away with the horrible things they did."

Wave grit his teeth in frustration. "I hate Wild Hunt just as much as you, Skyrah." He said. "They are sick, twisted people."

"But they are part of the government, and you protected them whether you meant to or not." She fired back, making Wave cross his arms and close his eyes.

"That's not what we did." He said simply.

"Fine." Skyrah replied. "Think that all you want."

Skyrah walked back down to the side of the lake and picked up her towel and soap, looking back at her overseer.

"Will you look away?" She asked with a blush. "I'm not going to bathe with my clothes on." She said.

Wave seemed to question whether or not he should do what she said, but eventually turned around.

Skyrah quickly undressed and waded out into the dark water, making sure her important parts were completely hidden.

"Okay, you can turn back around now." She said, pouring some of the soap out of the bottle and beginning to put it in her hair.

Wave turned back, seeing the shoulders and head of the girl now wading in the water. He knew what was under the water, but that didn't stop his mind from drifting.

"Do you, uh, need me to wash your back?" Wave asked, immediately regretting it.

Skyrah turned around, looking back at him. "What'd you say?" She asked, not hearing what he had said.

"Nothing!" Wave said, silently thanking the universe that he wasn't heard. "I didn't say anything!"

Skyrah nodded, then turned back around facing out into the pond.

Rhys was alone, walking around Night Raid's base in the middle of the night. He had done this for the past few days, it seemed like everyone couldn't get much sleep while Skyrah was gone, the first few days they had been hopeful, expecting a quick escape from their comrade, but now they days crawled by. No jobs had been given to Night Raid other than Tatsumi and Mine's mission, which had them gone for only two days.

Both expected Skyrah to have returned by the time they got back, but were not met with her greetings when they returned from the mission they would have gone on with her help.

Najenda had tried to keep the team's morale up, but even she was starting to feel the pressure of losing another friend. Leone had hardly been at the hideout, she had been searching for any trace of where the Jaegers had gone, but found little to nothing.

Akame hadn't spoken since she left, not a word to anyone. She had kept herself busy by vigorously training, not stopping until she absolutely had to, even if she hadn't spoken, her hatred of Esdeath and her Jaegers radiated around her. Rhys had tried his best to get her to eat, but he wouldn't stay around her for long, just the air around her was thick with tension.

It was made clear to Rhys just how much Night Raid cared about their members, especially when they knew one was still alive.

That didn't mean he didn't miss her, even though the two hadn't talked much, she seemed nice enough, and despite her past, she still wore a smile most of the time and was helpful to the other members.

The wood underneath his feet creaked as he slowly made his way down the stairs, making sure not to trip in the darkness. He heard the sound of metal on metal, and knew who he was going to have to usher to bed, again.

Rhys rounded the corner that led out to the training grounds, where Akame was still flipping around, perfecting her attacks and keeping her mind off of the world around her. It didn't feel right to call out to her and take her out of the escape she was currently in, so he sat and watched for a few minutes, before she finally stopped, breathing heavily and dripping sweat.

"Akame, do you plan on going to bed any time soon?" He asked, crossing his arms. "You've hardly slept."

Akame turned around, slowing down her breathing. Rhys noticed the moisture on her face wasn't sweat, it was from the tears streaming from her eyes. Her eyes were puffy and red, she looked like she was in more pain than he had seen anyone in the past week.

"Skyrah wouldn't want you to worry like this." Rhys consoled, standing up and walking over to her. "So please, for your sake, go get some rest."

Akame turned away, gripping her sword tightly and looking down on the ground.

"You need rest, you're going to hurt your body if you continue like this." Rhys said, grabbing Akame's hand and trying to pull her away.

Akame spun, hitting Rhys across the head, making him let go and back away.

The two assassins locked eyes with each other, Rhys noticed the anger in Akame's eyes, and knew what was about to happen.

Akame sheathed her blade and threw it to the side, putting up her fists.

"Shut up, don't tell me what is going to hurt me, I can take care of myself." Akame growled.

Rhys felt blood in his mouth from her previous attack and wiped his mouth, quickly matching Akame's stance.

"I'll tell you what's going to hurt you." He said, clenching his teeth. "I am."

Akame sped over to Rhys, swinging wildly and being easily dodged. Rhys shot a quick jab into Akame's stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Rhys' Teigu activated and he dodged Akame's next attack, hitting her with a powerful punch to her temple. Akame's eyes were blurry after the attack, but she attacked again, striking Rhys in his mouth, quickly spinning on one foot and kicking him in the side of his head.

Both of the two assassins continued their assault on each other, neither holding back their strength. Strike after strike, the two traded blows again and again, trying to bring one another down.

Rhys suddenly felt a blow to his back throwing him towards Akame at breakneck speed, she dodged his flying body, but she was immediately hit in her head, throwing her into the same wall Rhys had been knocked into.

Leone angrily stomped over to the two of them, picking them both up and slamming them together.

"What the hell is the matter with you two?!" She shouted in anger. "Why are you fighting at a time like this?" She roared, hitting the two together again.

"I was just trying to help!" Rhys shouted, trying to squirm out of Leone's tight grip. "Akame needs to rest!"

"She knows her limits, you need to mind your own business!" Leone said, slamming him into the dirt before looking up to Akame. "And you need to stop ignoring all of us, Skyrah being here isn't only affecting you!" Leone reared back and threw Akame into a wall, crushing the wood with the force from her body.

Both Akame and Rhys struggled to move from the incredibly powerful blows.

Leone was still fuming with anger. "Grow up, both of you!" She yelled, stomping her foot down. "The last thing she's going to want to see when she gets back is us torn apart!" Leone stomped away from the two beaten assassins, slamming the door she had come from behind her.

Akame was the first to her feet. She leaned up against the wall, feeling just how tired she really was. The things Leone had said, sure they hurt to listen to, but they were the truth, Akame was ignoring her friends and had lost hope that her friend was going to return.

"Rhys, I'm sorry for attacking you…" Akame said, walking over and helping him up. "I… wasn't thinking right." She said, feeling her tears stream from her eyes again.

Rhys cracked his neck, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry too." He said, giving a weak smile. "We need to stick together for Skyrah's sake, Leone has probably found something to lead to her."

Leone watched from a window in an upper level of the building, she was happy that the two apologized to each other, but also felt pain rise in her heart. She hadn't found a single lead on Skyrah's whereabouts, it was almost like she disappeared.

Wherever she was, she had to be alive. Esdeath would have already let Night Raid know if she was dead, just like they did with Chelsea. Leone prayed that she wouldn't find Skyrah like they had found Chelsea, it would rip Akame, and all of Night Raid apart.

"Leone, what's going on?" Mine asked, walking out of her room rubbing her eyes. "What was that shouting?"

Leone chuckled softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." She said, looking back out into the night sky. "Everything is fine, go back to bed." Mine was suddenly at her side, leaned against her larger body.

"Found anything about Skyrah?" She asked, looking outside with Leone.

Leone gripped her fists. "Nothing." She said. "I've asked around the Capital, and towns near it, and nobody has seen a thing about Skyrah or Esdeath and the Jaegers." She explained, holding an arm around Mine's body.

"She'll be okay." Mine said softly, a small smile appearing on her face. "She's strong."

Leone nodded with a smile, happy someone other than her and the boss had hope she would return. "Yeah, we'll find her soon, I promise."

"Akame has taken it pretty hard." Mine said. "I hope she is okay."

"She's alright, just worried." Leone grinned. "Like you were when Tatsumi was taken by Esdeath, she's scared for her lover."

Mine jerked away from Leone, a huge blush on her face. "L-lover?" She cried out, remembering when Tatsumi had been taken. "Don't call us names like that! We're just dating!"

Leone laughed. "Yeah, whatever you say, kiddo." She smiled, walking away from her friend and waving back to her. "I'm gonna get some rest, gotta get back out there tomorrow." She said, disappearing to her room.

Mine was left alone, looking out the window at the huge moon.

"You'll be back soon, right?" She asked, knowing nobody could hear her.