Disclaimer: I don't own Akame Ga Kill or any of its characters, but I DO own my OC's Akira and Takumi.

A/N: Hello everyone! I would like to thank Drew Luczyski for reviewing my last chapter! I also appreciate all the faves and follows this story has been receiving lately and the encouragement is just awesome.


Chapter 12: Kill the Intimacy

Imperial Capital, Back Alleys

Ragged breaths and heavy footsteps filled the alleyway, echoing on the cobblestones in the dead of night. A man ran for all his worth, trying to get as far away as possible from his pursuer. When he made it to the corner of the wall, the man hid, holding his breath in attempt to not make noise. He tensed up the moment he heard his pursuer's voice...

"What's wrong Phil? I thought we were having a good time." A female called out to him in the darkness. "This Hide-n-Seek is making me think that you're worried about something..."

That little bitch...! Phil thought exasperatedly, quietly taking out a survival knife from his coat pocket.

The man dared to take a peek, and when he did a bandaged hand darted out for his throat. Before the assailant could get a hold of him, Phil lashed out with his weapon on reflex, stabbing the aggressor's forearm. Hearing a hiss of pain as confirmation that he indeed hit his target, he felt confident enough to strike again.

This time I'll get her in the stomach! Phil thought in determination, already prepared to deliver the next blow.

As fate would have it, the man wasn't so lucky to land a hit this time. The redhead read him like a book as she was able to block the brunt of the blow with her right hand, willingly stabbing herself in the process. Startled, Phil threw a punch coming her way, but Akira was ready for him, easily catching his fist. Using this new position to her advantage, the kickboxer began to close her right hand into a fist as much as she could with the knife still in there, and with precise agility the redhead twisted her hand along with the weapon as far as possible.

As expected, Phil cried out in pain as he was forced to let go of the knife. Before Akira could get the upper hand, the man managed to do a quick leg sweep, catching his aggressor off guard. The moment the redhead lost her balance and fell on the ground, Akira's target managed to slip away further down the alley...

"Dammit!" The kickboxer cursed under her breath as she tried to stand up, wincing as she realized that she had used her right hand to stop her descent, pushing the knife deeper into the palm of her hand. Her hand throbbed, but thankfully Akira's adrenaline was still in effect so it wasn't so bad at the moment.

At least I didn't give him the chance to stab anything important... The redhead thought in relief, and she then took a deep breath as she grabbed a hold of the knife's handle with her free hand. With a quick forceful tug, Akira pulled out the knife, and afterwards she cradled her injured hand to her chest. The bastard likes to stab people, huh? Then I'll give him something to stab...

Having the routes of the alleyway memorized thanks to her briefing with Leone, Akira walked calmly towards the opposite route of her target with the survival knife in hand. There was no rush after all. The back alleys on this part of the Capital are full of dead ends so eventually the little mouse would have no choice but to come meet its prey...

Meanwhile on the other part of the alleyway maze, Phil ran as fast as his legs could take him. As he kept running, little by little his mind was starting to realize how minuscule his chances of survival are as he kept running into dead ends, and the more he thought about it the more panicked he became. The last thing he wanted to do was turn back and eventually run into his assailant, but this seemed like the only logical option to take regardless of it being suicide.

"Shit! Dammit!" The man cursed his inattentiveness. "Dammit, I really wish I still had my knife...!"

Phil finally broke the stare off with the wall and turned around. There was no one there. Maybe, she gave up...? He thought uneasy, hoping for some sort of miracle but deep down he knew that this silly wish of his was nothing more than a fallacy.

Mustering up his courage, the man started to head back whence he came and when he turned the corner...

Phil's mouth went agape in a breathless attempt to scream out, his body feeling paralyzed from the waist down. It was strange. One moment he felt numb and the next he felt unbearable agony as his abdomen had been disemboweled. In shock, Phil fell to his knees while putting his arms over his stomach in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

"If my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, I think this would've been me back there if I hadn't blocked your attack..." Akira inquired quietly, but loud enough for her target to hear over his hyperventilating breaths. "Tell me... Does it hurt? It looks like it does."

The man managed to lift up his gaze to meet the redhead's. "W-What do you want from me?"

"I'll make this brief." The kickboxer crouched down so they could be face-to-face, holding the survival knife up to his throat. "My sources tell me that you're a member of the Deadly Vipers, you know, the very same group whose been causing quite the stir within the Capital recently... I hear that they like to sneak into residences and offer a house warming gift of sorts. How do you guys refer to it as? A 'Viper's Kiss'?"

The man began to shake, swallowing heavily as he had no choice but to listen.

"Breaking-n-Entering, having a grand time with the females of every household while the men are forced to watch, and the finale being that there will be no witness after the crimes are committed. Of course, not before ransacking the houses after you were all done with that." The redhead smiled, though it did not look genuine in the slightest. "But, like I said, those seem to be rumors and it looks like you're my number one guy to check if this information is correct. So... Care to tell me about them?"

Phil's brown eyes widened in alarm, but he did not speak.

Displeased, Akira grabbed a fist full of his coat and brought him close. "Phil, Phil, Phil... You and I both know exactly how this works." She whispered as she relocated the knife from his throat up to the man's left ear, the bloodied blade cutting a bit of skin. "Let's stop dancing around it, shall we? I want you to tell me everything about the Deadly Vipers. What they've been doing and where to find them. And if I sense a lie coming from you, I'll make sure that the Imperial Guards won't be able to identify your body..."


Imperial Capital, Cemetery

Mission complete.

After Akira finished with her "chat" with Phil, the redhead headed to the rendezvous point to meet up with one of the Revolutionary Army's spies and deliver the information she just learned to them. When they met up, they discussed business, and all went well without any complications.

"Good work!" The scout praised as he quickly wrote down the last bit of the details in his journal. He then closed the notebook as he flashed a grin to the kickboxer. "Miss Najenda was right about you! Straightforward and to the point, I like that!"

Akira was indifferent, shrugging her shoulders as if it was nothing. She really doesn't know how to take a compliment sometimes. "I'm full of surprises..."

"Whelp, I've got to head back to HQ." The spy headed back to his horse, getting up on the saddle. "I'll be sure to let my leader know to compensate you for your troubles. Miss Najenda will receive the payment and hand it to you personally once it arrives."

"Thanks." The redhead spoke in gratitude as she waved the young boy off, leaving on his horse towards the outskirts.

The suddenness of this meeting was completely unexpected for Akira. She initially thought that she was meeting up with a veteran of sorts within the rebel army, a full-grown man, she certainly wasn't expecting a kid. The young lad seemed to be around Takumi's age and he looked quite happy to be doing his part for the Revolution.

And honestly, it was a heartbreaking sight for the redhead. He's so young... I guess this Revolution is dragging everyone into the mix. Men, Women, Children, whether they like or not depending on their circumstances...

"Well, you certainly let that poor bastard have it back there." A familiar voice commented from behind the kickboxer, who got startled as she turned around to face the newcomer.

Akira's stance significantly relaxed at seeing her comrade. "Were you following me?"

Leone smiled. "You could say that."

"What? You thought I couldn't handle this mission on my own?" The redhead asked her.

"Nah, I knew you could handle it." The outlaw spoke, confidently as she crossed her arms.

Akira raised her eyebrows in amusement. "Then, why are you following me?"

The blonde stood her ground, though her tail gave the impression that the facade she was building up wasn't working so well. "I was worried..." She mumbled.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

"I said, 'I was worried.'" Leone repeated again, though she murmured the last part.

The kickboxer chuckled. "Blondie, you need to speak louder."

"I SAID I WAS WORRIED!"

"Oh." Akira said for a loss of words. She really didn't know whether to act annoyed or amused. Personally, the redhead is a really independent person by nature since she did a lot of things at a young age by herself. So it's really hard when someone hovers over her, which isn't a bad thing, but it makes Akira think that she's incompetent of taking care of herself. "Is this because this was my first solo mission?"

"Yes..." The lion shifter sighed in defeat. "At first I thought you might need some backup, but in the end I decided to let you handle it and so I would only step in if things got dicey. I was right. You could handle it on your own. But, can you blame me?" Leone grabbed a hold of Akira's injured hand, gently brushing over the bandaged hand by the knuckles with her thumb as she examined the wound for herself. "You're hurt..."

Startled by Leone's care, the kickboxer yanked her hand away from the outlaw's grasp, wincing a bit from the action. "The blood's not mine..." She gave a lame excuse to get Leone off her case.

"Don't lie to me. I know it's yours." The blonde stated a fact, definitely even more so since Leone is currently in her Beast form.

Stupid, damned Teigu of hers..! Akira cursed in her thoughts.

"What am I going to do with you?" Leone sighed, patting the young girl's head. "Come on. Let's go to Gramps' place and get you patched up." She told the girl as she left the cemetery, letting Lionelle's Beast form to slip away.

"Sure..." The redhead mumbled quietly, slowly following behind her companion.


Imperial Capital, Dr. Leonard's Clinic/Residence

"Akira, darling, we really need to stop meeting like this." Dr. Leonard teased as he tended the girl's injury. "I guess I can give ya a pass. The last time I saw you girls was... Hmm, a month ago I think?" He recalled, and then his tone switched to concern. "Seriously though, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get hurt this time?"

Both Night Raid members blanched a bit as they were being stared at by the old man, who was waiting patiently for an answer.

The redhead was at a loss for words, trying to come up with a convincing story. "Uh..."

"A fight! In a bar!" The blonde blurted out, doing things half-arsed since she was caught off guard by the sudden question. "Akira here protected me from a couple of drunken perverts, who wouldn't take a hint when they were hitting on me, and my guardian angel here kindly punched their lights out!"

Moron. Akira couldn't believe the complete and total utter blasphemy she was hearing coming out of the outlaw's mouth. The kickboxer groaned out loud as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, feeling a headache coming on. There are so many inconsistencies that even I don't know where to start...

"Bullshit."

"Gramps!" Leone yelled out, shocked that her old caretaker said such a word. He may be a grown man, but it wasn't very often that she'd hear him talk like that.

"I'm sorry my Little Cub, but I even I have to admit that there are flaws to your story." Leonard stated a fact. "For one, if you're friend really fought against these ruffians, assuming that they're more than two men... How come she's not beaten up? Surely, she should have a couple of scrapes, maybe a fracture or two."

"Oh, please! Akira's a skilled fighter!" The outlaw stubbornly defended herself, still sticking to her story. "I mean, have you seen the bandages she wraps around her hands?! She's a very talented kickboxer, you know, she can punch your lights out in a heartbeat!"

"Speaking of bandages..." The doctor straightened his glasses, his viridian eyes twinkling as he smiled in amusement. "When does the weapon, which I assume is a survival knife, come into play in your little story?"

"What wound? The blood's not hers!" The blonde hastily blurted out once again, though after realizing what she had just said Leone face palmed. IDIOT! We wouldn't even be here asking for his help if that was the case! I'm so stupid...

Overall, Leone just wished that the ground would suddenly devour her whole just to escape the embarrassment somehow. Making a fool in front of her old man was one thing, she's always done that one way or another, but Akira... Oh, deep down, Leone just knew that the redhead would not let her live this down...

Meanwhile on the sideline, Akira looked beyond irritated, clearly noticing that the lion shifter had used her lame lie from earlier. Only difference is that it totally made Leone look like a dunce in front of her old guardian. That little bitch...!

"Let's pretend I didn't hear that." Dr. Leonard did the outlaw a favor, though regardless the damage to her pride was already there. "Anyway, while I have no doubt about Red's talents, I still think that there's something amiss. Not to mention, between the two of you, Red here seems the least likely to get into that kind of trouble. You on the other hand..." Leo gave the blonde a look. "The Leone I know always starts a fight, and she always finishes it. You like getting caught up in the fun. If anything... I'd say these ruffians should be running away from YOU!"

Leone opened her mouth only to close it again a moment later, seemingly out of words to retaliate against the old man's claims. He was telling the truth after all. And so, in the end, the blonde pouted in defeat. "You really are the worst."

"That I am." Dr. Leonard laughed a bit before he turned serious, directing his gaze upon the two girls. "Listen, if it makes you feel any better, you don't have to tell me what happened. All I'm trying to say is: Please. Be careful." He pleaded with them. "While I certainly don't mind helping you girls out when you're in a jam, I'd like it if these visits weren't so...'bloody', so to speak. I don't know what you're doing nowadays, but I do worry. A lot. I'm certainly too old to see two strong, smart, beautiful young women getting into trouble all the time."

Akira was stunned. She'd never had someone, let alone a complete stranger, fret over her safety like that. At least, not since her parents... Though, Leo is a doctor. He has taken an oath to help everyone in need so she wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the reason. On the other hand, from what the redhead has observed from him, Leonard overall did have a caring and an almost carefree personality, similar to Leone's.

I can definitely see where she got it from... The kickboxer thought with a smile.

"Gramps..." Leone was speechless, feeling guilt grasp at her heart since she had to lie to her old caretaker. Again. "I-I don't know what to say-"

"You girls can thank me by accompanying me to dinner tonight." The old man interrupted her, holding his hand out before the blonde could protest. "My treat, and I insist. I don't know about you, but I could certainly go for some Sake."

"Fine. I guess we could go..." The lion shifter conceded as she crossed her arms, not really sure how to feel about it all. She wasn't sure if she was in the mood anyway...

Akira looked surprised. "You don't sound so excited. The doctor actually invited us to dinner, he wants to drink Sake with you, AND he's paying for it all! It's free!" She exclaimed, trying to cheer her friend up with these facts. The redhead then looked at Leonard. "Hey Doc, I think your daughter might have a fever."

Daughter? Both Leonard and Leone thought in confusion, their eyes widening in shock as they looked at one another. They weren't mad, but they were puzzled to hear that come out of Akira's mouth.

Unbeknownst to them, the kickboxer rambled on. "'Cause normally, the Leone I know would jump for an opportunity like this! She's a professional bum and mooches off of others on a daily basis."

"Hey!" Leone looked offended, a blush rising up to her cheeks in embarrassment from the redhead's claims. They were indeed true, but still!

"And, DON'T get me started on her gambling habits...!" Akira grumbled. "Like a month ago for example, she promised me some fun in spending a thousand gold coins only to lose them right off the bat on the first be-"

The blonde covered Akira's mouth, silencing her as she brought the young girl close. "Okaaay~! That's enough out of you tonight!" Surprisingly, the redhead quieted soon after only for her to start giggling, though it was slightly muffled under Leone's hand. Honestly, the outlaw had to admit that it was pretty cute. "You're such a minx, you know that! That was supposed to be our little secret!" Leone lightly chided the girl as she released her hold.

"Well, I still got you to react, didn't I?" The kickboxer smiled at her, and the lion shifter could've sworn she felt her heart flutter inside her chest.

Yep, definitely a minx...! Leone thought irritably, groaning a bit for falling for the girl's trick.

"Yeah, you're absolutely right Red." Dr. Leonard agreed to Akira's previous statement, crossing his arms. "I guess you and I will be the ones to enjoy a delicious meal tonight since someone just 'threw my kindness in my face...'" He trailed off with a devilish grin.

"H-Hey now! Let's not get too hasty!" The outlaw perked up a bit, giving a shaky laugh. "I'd never turn down food, if it's offered, and if Sake's involved then... How can I possibly say no?"

"There's the Blondie I know!" Akira grinned, playfully punching the blonde's shoulder.

The doctor gave a hearty laugh. "I couldn't agree more. Now then, shall we finally head out ladies?" He asked them as he removed his lab coat, switching it to a casual jacket.

"Let's!" The redhead spoke, excitedly as she was the first one out of the clinic. "I'm starving!"

"Akira, wait up!" Leone called out to her, about to go after the girl but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from doing so. The lion shifter looked over at her old guardian. "What is it Gramps?"

Leo looked towards the front door, keeping an eye out in case Akira came back. He leaned down a bit to whisper, "I think I like this one..."

The outlaw couldn't help but blush when she heard him say that, subconsciously smiling a bit. "Yeah...I think I do too..."


Imperial Capital, Leone's Neighborhood

After exiting the clinic, the girls kindly told the doctor that they'd fancied eating ramen and pretty soon the man led them to a restaurant he frequently visited. Once there, the small group chatted and laughed until their meals finally arrived at their table.

Akira stared at the ramen bowl in front of her while simultaneously glaring at her right hand, which was covered in more bandages than usual. Although the meal smelled really good, the redhead couldn't bring herself to eat it because of her small predicament...

Why did I have to be right handed when I eat? This is torture! The kickboxer thought exasperatedly as she fought to get a good grip on her chopsticks, only to fail once again as her utensils clattered on the wooden surface of the table. I might as well starve! Why did I have to get stitches?!

From the sideline, Leonard noticed the poor girl contemplating in her thoughts as he ate. It didn't take him long to figure it out. And pretty soon, a plan formed at the forefront of his mind. Smirking a bit through his chopsticks, the brunette elbowed Leone on the ribs to get her attention. The blonde glared at him and was about to unleash her wrath, but she glanced towards the doctor's line of sight...

Leone looked back at her guardian and whispered, "What do you want me to do?"

"That's for you to decide, my Little Lioness." The doctor muttered in response, winking at her for good luck. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading outside for a smoke."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Panicking on the inside, the outlaw grabbed a fistful of the man's jacket, keeping him grounded in place. "You can't just leave me here alone! Besides, people would be staring at us!"

"And since when do you care about what other people think? Just focus on her, and not to mention... I did ask the hostess to sit us at the back, where is secluded, so you wouldn't have to worry about that in the first place." Dr. Leonard told her, laying his cards on the table so to speak.

Leone's golden eyes widened in shock. "You already had this planned, didn't you?!" She accused him.

"May~be I did or may~be I didn't. Who knows?"

Before the lion shifter realized what was going on, her old caretaker had removed his jacket while he was still in her hold, leaving the coat in Leone's hands as he quickly exited the vicinity. "You really are the worst!"

"Who's the worst?" Akira asked, finally taking her attention away from her meal.

Leone noticed that she had said that out loud, and so she came up with an excuse. "O-Oh, it's nothing. It was something that Gramps said..."

"I see." The redhead nodded in understanding. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, of course!" The blonde insisted, dumping Leo's jacket on his chair.

"Okay."

Here goes nothing... Leone thought a bit uneasy, mustering up her courage on the opportunity in front of her. "Akira, you have to eat."

"I'm not really hungry..." The kickboxer spoke, lamely as she tried to not stare at her food. The ramen smell was killing her on the inside.

The outlaw was not fooled even for a minute, but she decided to play along, if only for the moment. "What? But you were so excited to eat earlier, and you even said that you were practically starving!"

She knows I'm lying. Akira thought in obvious realization, debating whether to keep dancing around the subject or to just screw her pride and straight out ask for the blonde's assistance.

In the end, she made up her mind. But before the redhead could even ask...her stomach growled almost as if it was mimicking a dying whale. Akira's face at this point was as red as her own hair color at the fact that her own body decided to betray her. Leone had a surprisingly good poker face, but even Akira could see just how hard the lion shifter was trying not to smirk or add a comment of any kind.

Overall, the kickboxer was embarrassed and just wished that she could either teleport out of here or turn herself invincible, if only for the moment. Great... I don't want to ask her now! She thought in shame as she shyly avoided Leone's gaze.

A warm hand suddenly laid on top of hers, making Akira look up at the outlaw, who smiled in kind as her golden eyes shone with so much compassion that the redhead almost found it to be blinding. Were her eyes always that pretty? She wondered.

"Akira, you have to eat." Leone spoke, gently as she grabbed the chopsticks on Akira's side of the table and with it the blonde got a good amount of noodles. She then got close close enough to feed the girl. "Here."

Instead the kickboxer shook her head defiantly, looking away once again with a fierce blush rising up her cheeks. The lion shifter had expected that, but regardless she refused to give up. One way or another Akira was going to eat her ramen, even if it took all night. Leone had plenty of time to waste.

"Aki, please. For me?" The outlaw softly pleaded, and she began to reason with the girl. "It's going to get cold. You don't want that, do you?"

"Fine, you win." The redhead sighed in defeat.

Thanks to Leone's assistance, Akira was finally able to finish her dinner. The ramen was delicious and the redhead was now drinking the broth, managing to use her good hand without help. She appeared to have chugged it a bit too fast as she had a coughing fit, a little bit of broth dribbling down Akira's chin.

The blonde smiled, taking a napkin and with it she wiped the redhead's chin. "Careful..."

"Thanks," The kickboxer said in gratitude, and afterwards she mumbled, "For everything..."

"No problem."

"There are my girls!" Dr. Leonard chirped in greeting, finally coming back from his smoke break. "I already paid our bill, so I'm ready to leave whenever you girls are ready." He told them.

Both Night Raid members looked at each other for a bit, smiling. "Yeah, we're ready."


Imperial Capital, Leonard's Clinic/Residence – Leone's Room

After dinner, the small trio had arrived back to the clinic. Leonard had insisted that the girls would spend the night here since it was getting late, and personally he wasn't all too comfortable with letting the girls head home by themselves with how dangerous the Capital was at night. Leone and Akira didn't blame the man for thinking that way and so they had decided to stay at his request.

As the girls headed upstairs to the outlaw's old room, Leone couldn't but let a feeling of nostalgia flood her senses. It was weird being back in her old home. So many memories... Some good, some bad, but overall the blonde didn't regret any of it. Leaving this home was just a small price to pay. To make a name for herself, to venture out into the world and make her mark by traveling to new places and meeting new people. That's the kind of adventure Leone seeks. Though, those dreams would have to wait...

Right now, her duty was first and foremost to Night Raid and the Revolution itself.

Once they had arrived to Leone's room, Akira was greeted to an absolute pigsty. Clothes and shoes lay on every which way of the floor, all the way to the clutter under the bed. The closet wasn't much better. It was left open with empty hangers hanging on there, totally ignored as the clothes that it should be hanging onto lay on the ground bunch up into a huge pile, making it seem like the outlaw was too lazy to hang them up in the first place. Manga and comic books were left stacked up in towers on the corner of the room, some of them looking like they were about to collapse at any moment if you as so much touched them. And finally, empty bottles of Sake and many kinds of alcoholic drinks overflowed inside as well as the outside of the small tumbled trash can in the outlaw's room.

The only things that remained remotely tidy in this room was Leone's old bed, which was properly made with freshly cleaned sheets, along with a bookshelf filled with medical books lined up neatly in alphabetical order.

So, this is Leone's den... It was pretty much how Akira imagined it to be. This room screamed that this was essentially Leone's habitat. Totally carefree without an utmost care in the world, just like its owner. It looks cozy. Admittedly, the redhead would've been lying if she said she'd be scared to find this room in a well-kept manner.

Meanwhile, the lion shifter was in absolute shock. Leone just couldn't believe that her room was kept EXACTLY the same as she had left it six years ago... Her mess was still there. Usually, when a child moves out, a parent cleans out their child's room depending on the household while other parents leave the room exactly as their child had left it. If Leonard did the latter then...

He really missed me... The blonde finished the thought, feeling emotional all of a sudden. And honestly, she wanted to cry...

"Leone?"

Leone snapped out of her thoughts, almost forgetting that Akira was with her. "Hmm, what's up?"

"Are we going to step inside or are we going to keep standing here for the rest of the night?" The redhead teased her.

"O-Oh, yeah," The outlaw meekly responded, without her usual upbeat attitude. "Sorry about the mess..." She apologized as she the young girl stepped into her old room.

"It's alright." The kickboxer reassured her.

"I just...didn't expect him to leave my room exactly the way I left it." Leone quietly admitted, having a sad look in her golden eyes.

Akira noticed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, um... If you don't mind, I'm going to take bath." The blonde excused herself as she exited the room. "Just chill or whatever..."

The door closed and the redhead was left alone to her own devices. She'd suppose she could read some of Leone's manga to pass the time. And so Akira did just that, walking over near the stacked pile and grabbed a random one from the top of the tower before laying down on Leone's bed. The kickboxer settled on her right side as she began to read.

About an hour had passed by, and the redhead was still absorbed in her reading. Six manga sat by her side on the bed, having read them all since she's currently reading manga number seven. Being distracted as she was, Akira hadn't even noticed the door to the room had opened let alone closing right afterwards, and it was only when the kickboxer felt arms wrap around her from behind as well as a pair of ample breasts being pressed up against her back was the moment where Akira was aware of Leone's presence.

But presence is putting it mildly...

"WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!" Akira screeched in total embarrassment as she sat up straight in bed, escaping from the older girl's embrace. She quickly averted her gaze, shielding her eyes away from the blonde bombshell that lay right next to her.

Meanwhile, Leone was totally relaxed, amused even as she was staring up at the redhead. "You don't like what you see?"

"Stop answering a question with a question!" The redhead spoke, irritably as she still looked anywhere but the blonde. "That's not what I asked!"

"Do you find me hideous then?" The outlaw asked, actually looking teary eyed.

"That's not what I said in the slightest!"

"You do, don't you!" Sobs tore through her throat, a drastic change from her playful mood. "It's my breasts isn't?!"

Blue eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

"I knew it, I just knew it!"

"Leone, what is going on?" Akira was so confused right now, finally daring to look at the lion shifter. It was a good thing she did because her blue eyes landed on the brown bottle in Leone's hands and she also noticed the older girl's flushed cheeks. "You were drinking? I thought you went to take a bath!"

"I did. I call it: Getting soaked 'n trashed." Leone corrected, hiccuping slightly as she spoke.

I can't believe this...! The redhead thought exasperatedly as she closed her eyes while pinching the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Can you at least put some clothes on?"

"Nope." The blonde gave a straight curt response, swigging back the rest of her drink.

"And, why not?" Akira dared to ask.

Leone grinned, settling under the covers. "I'm already in my PJ's."

"Oh, Gods..." The kickboxer went rigid, her eyes widening in horror.

"Wow. Am I really that ugly?"

"Stop it! I didn't say that!"

"Well, you're acting like it's a bad thing!" The outlaw pouted. "You said so yourself once before, remember? That I practically walk around half naked. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise and quite frankly, I hate sleeping with clothes. If I had my way, I'd be a nudist."

Akira looked puzzled. But, that other time she-

Seeing the inquiry in her eyes, Leone answered the unsaid question. "I was tired that night." She reached up with her hand, gently massaging the redhead's left shoulder. "The night when you got hurt on your first mission..." She whispered softly, tugging down the girl's shirt a bit so that she could see the old injury. Thankfully it had healed just fine, though some scarring was present as evidence from that encounter. "Does it hurt you still?"

It was a silly question, sure, but the blonde still felt the need to ask it and the sad look that Akira received from her really tugged at her heartstrings.

"Not anymore." The kickboxer replied honestly as she laid her good hand over Leone's, intertwining their fingers.

Leone smiled a bit before yawn came out of her lips, her eyelids dropping slightly as exhaustion finally started to set in. "Good..."

Akira returned that smile with one of her own, kissing the back of the blonde's hand before laying it down. "You should get some sleep." She said to the older girl, about to get up from the bed. The redhead didn't even get a chance to up because pretty soon she was dragged back down again, laying on Leone's side. "Leone, what the hel-"

"You're sleeping with me tonight." The lion shifter cut her off, pulling the young girl even closer to her. "And don't you worry, I'll keep my hands to myself." She promised as she closed her eyes.

Akira's mind was going haywire with only three words coming to the forefront of her mind. Leone. Naked. Bed. Over and over those thoughts kept repeating inside her head, her heart beating against her rib cage almost a hundred miles per minute. The kickboxer tried to squirm out of the outlaw's grasp, but to no avail her grip was iron tight. "Leone, please, I can sleep on the floor or I can take the couch downstairs! Please! Don't do this to me!"

Light snores were the only sound to reach the redhead's ears by this point, indicating that Leone had succumbed to slumber. Leaving a poor Akira to a night of restless sleep...


A/N2: Whelp, that's it for chapter 12 folks! I hope that you guys enjoyed the Leone/Akira interactions for this chapter, I know I did, especially since it's been a bit since last time I wrote moments for these two! As usual, please let me know what you think on your reviews. Any kind of support would be wonderful and appreciated! Until next time! XD