Chapter 46

Kill the Competition

Skyrah went about her usual training, being coached along the way by Grandmaster Wu. The only difference was Limit Break being at its maximum capacity of 500 percent power. Both thought it would be beneficial to her to get used to fighting under the pressure of her Teigu, each knowing how powerful the enemies of Night Raid had become. In the two weeks since Yuki and the Royal family had arrived, Skyrah hadn't stopped training for anything, she barely slept or gave herself time to spend with anyone, even Akame.

Her fiancé couldn't blame her, however, the reason she trained so hard was to keep herself and Night Raid alive. And even though Mine had apologized to her for accusing that she got Tatsumi killed, Akame could tell Skyrah couldn't let go of it, that was partially the reason she kept her distance from everyone.

Mine had dedicated herself to learning how to control her newly fused Teigu of Pumpkin and Incursio. Now, instead of just firing the weapon alone, she could activate Tatsumi's Teigu at the same time, being covered in the armor while also being able to use Pumpkin. She had trouble keeping on the armor for long periods of time, claiming it gave her a massive headache and insistent nosebleeds from overworking her body and mind, but had gained an incredible boost of power from using it for the first time against Skyrah.

Leone and Akame had still not gotten used to having Yuki around, constantly mistaking her for Skyrah despite her clear physical differences. But both had come to love Diane, who proved to be an invaluable asset, she was incredibly smart and very quick to problem solve without having to brute-force it like Night Raid usually would after losing Najenda.

King and Prince August were very out of place, having to take care of themselves was difficult for them to adjust to, and they usually tried to follow around Diane, who chastised them for never leaving them alone.

Mia trained constantly with Leone, desperately trying to catch up to Skyrah, Akame, and now even Mine. She tried her hardest to help the townspeople the best she could, rebuilding homes, gathering food, and even doing labor jobs alongside them to gain at least some trust. However her efforts proved to be mostly futile aside from a the children and a few kind hearted adults, most were still afraid of who she once was.

The town had been quiet otherwise, there hadn't been one instance of Black Council trying to make any kind of advancement at Night Raid after they lost Yuki and their hostages.

"Skyrah, I think that's enough for today." Grandmaster Wu said, stopping the fight. Akame was watching from the sidelines on a rather frilly pink and white picnic blanket, eating her lunch and quietly awaiting Skyrah to come eat with her.

"Master, it's only been a few hours since I started Limit Break." Skyrah complained, covered in sweat.

Wu looked upset. "You were lucky to make it a few minutes two weeks ago Skyrah." He reprimanded. "And the sparring we're doing won't amount to you getting batted around in the sky and falling hundreds of feet." He looked scared for his student. "You need a break, this is going to do more bad than good at this point." With that, the old man walked away, leaving behind a Skyrah too exhausted to argue.

"Yes, Master…" She mumbled, deactivating her Teigu as she walked over to Akame, sitting down on the picnic blanket beside her. "How are you?"

Akame nodded, distracted by her food. She quickly noticed that despite being covered in sweat, Skyrah didn't smell bad to her even the slightest. Much like Mia had first described years ago, the girl had a natural scent of lilac.

The couple sat quietly, Skyrah inhaled the food Akame had made for her, she was always hungry for anything Akame would make. When she finished, she looked back over to her fiancé, who was in her own little world while she was eating and looking towards the ocean.

Right when Akame finished and put her food down, Skyrah put her head down in her girlfriend's lap, looking up at her with a big smile and finally getting her attention. She leaned down almost immediately, kissing Skyrah on the lips, which was happily returned.

Skyrah stretched out her body, yawning and closing her eyes while she rested her head on Akame's lap.

"Tired?" Akame asked with a little smirk.

Skyrah shook her head slightly, but didn't open her eyes. "I'm okay." She said slowly.

Akame began running her fingers through Skyrah's hair and lightly scratching her scalp, knowing exactly what the girl liked. The hundreds of times they had slept side-by-side had given her a lot of insight of how Skyrah acted when tired, and what could put her to sleep. Due to her smaller frame, she would rest her face on Akame's chest, sleeping a little bit lower in the bed than her so she could get into her most liked snuggling position.

A tiny movement by the now sleeping Skyrah made Akame snap back into reality. She sighed in relief, if anyone needed sleep it was Skyrah, so she was glad to stay there with her and allow her to sleep for a few hours. They were close to the cliffs that dropped to the ocean, so a cool breeze would hit them every few minutes.

After a few minutes went by, Yuki came over, sitting beside Akame.

What was once a very calm feeling was now replaced with an uncomfortable air between the two.

"I wanted to apologize." Yuki began, not looking at Akame.

"How could you let yourself be controlled?" Akame responded hatefully, looking over at a fractured mirror image of Skyrah. "Don't you have any pride or ego?"

Yuki frowned, still not wanting to look over. "I'm not like her." She said. "While I may have her memories and body, that doesn't mean I'm her."

There was a silence between them as Akame took in what she said. The whole situation was confusing.

"She's taller." Akame broke the silence.

Yuki didn't even seem affected by the insult that would have made Skyrah go ballistic. She kept staring straight forward out into the ocean.

"I guess not." Akame's voice softened when she spoke. "Why won't you look at me?"

Yuki turned, looking directly into Akame's eyes. "Because the first thing I was told when I was created was to kill you." She said, looking down at Skyrah for a moment. "And I promised her I wouldn't hurt you. Not only that, but I hardly trust myself to be near you." She warned, looking away. "The only reason I came over was because she was asleep, she doesn't want me to be anywhere near you."

Akame watched as Yuki crossed her arms, tapping her pointer finger against her bicep. Something Skyrah did when she was being impatient.

Akame lowered her head, looking down at Skyrah. "Even when you're in the most danger, you're still looking out for me." She thought with a smile, brushing some of the brown hair out of the sleeping girl's face.

"I won't say I accept your apology." Akame said, getting no reaction out of Yuki. "But thank you for helping the royal family, that means a lot to the team." She said.

Yuki nodded her head.

Another silence, they listened to the waves for a few minutes before either of them spoke.

"I have a weird question." Akame blushed.

"Shoot."

She took a moment, trying to find the correct way to word it. "Can you remember everything Skyrah has done?" She asked. "Like even what she did yesterday?"

Yuki actually cracked a smile. "It's not like I can read her mind, no." She said with a little amusement in her voice, sounding almost exactly like Skyrah did normally. "The memories stop just before I woke up and gained my own consciousness. But, other than that, I can remember her life pretty clearly, probably a little better than her."

Akame blushed harder. "Such as?"

Yuki raised an eyebrow, then was even more amused. "If you're wondering if I remember you naked, then yes, I do." She gave a small laugh, which made Akame even more embarrassed.

"Alright then." Akame barely whispered.

Skyrah moved slightly in her slumber, rolling over so she was facing Akame's stomach rather than looking up. Akame continued running her fingers through her hair, looping it around her finger a few times before letting it fall back to normal.

Yuki stood up. "I had better go, you two seem content and I don't want her waking up to see me." She said, walking away while Akame watched.

Looking back down at Skyrah, she couldn't help but smile seeing her sleeping so peacefully in her lap. It was moments like these that made her wish Skyrah didn't have to fight, but also made her appreciate how amazing she was to have survived everything she had and still been so attached to Akame.

"I love you, Skyrah." Akame leaned down, kissing her head softly.

/

Khan and Ava left for London after a distress call was sent out by one of the members of Black Council earlier that day. It had been weeks since they had finished off Skyrah, causing the rest of Night Raid to flee in terror to somewhere and Europe. The two guessed that Esdeath or someone else had found out where they had holed up, and needed them to deliver the final blow, ending the assassination group once and for all.

"I suppose they probably can't beat Akame." Khan guessed, sitting across from Ava on the train headed to the capital city. "She's probably gotten stronger after all this time."

Ava harrumphed, looking out the window. "At least we don't have to deal with the brat." She grumbled. "I've never seen someone grow so quickly."

Khan laughed. "That was mostly her Teigu, but I do admit she was pretty adaptable in our fight." He said, returning to the boo he was reading.

His companion raised her eyebrow and looked back to him. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, causing him to look up at her. "The bit about her Teigu."

He lowered his book, closing it softly and clearing his throat. "Loputon Voima had a hidden ability that made it grow stronger after every fight, the stronger the enemy, the bigger the boost." He explained. "I would say that when you first fought Skyrah in her most basic form, she was probably only half as strong as she was after the fight." Khan finished, seeing just how surprised Ava was.

She crossed her arms. "Little runt." She said, remembering being beaten down by the younger girl.

"Which I why I held back in our fight." He gave her a hard glare.

"You could have just obliterated her if you used your full power." Ava said.

Khan shook his head. "But can you imagine if she somehow survived?" He asked. "Skyrah would have stronger than you are now by far."

Ava mumbled something. "It doesn't matter, she's dead." She said, smirking. "Fish food."

Khan nodded. "Right."

A few minutes went by in silence. After having spent weeks together in Japan, watching over the Capital as the people rebuilt, they had formed an odd friendship over time. They were, undoubtedly, the most powerful beings in the world. Soon, they wouldn't even have competition.

The train jostled from side to side as it came to a halt. The pair stood up, Ava wrapping her arm around Khan's tightly, and walked off the train like a normal couple, no one knowing that God's Hand was now in England.

But soon they would.