Athena the Assassin
It was a calm and peaceful night, as the Empire Capital was quieting down from the excitements of the day. In a dark prison like cell in the back of someone's in home prison, sat a young girl, dressed in a large white T-shirt, way too big to belong to her, more suited for a big boned adult man, with her knees to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her arms and legs were wrapped in bandages, and her neck was bruised from constantly wearing a collar.
Her hair was three different colors, the main one being scarlet red with a golden blonde tips, and jet black bangs. Normally, she'd have cat ears on her head, and scales on her face, but those weren't anywhere to be seen. She had a black diamond mark on her forehead and emerald green eyes, filled with both anger and sadness, as she recalled what had gotten her in this situation in the first place.
~Flashback~
"Mom." Scythe cried out, seeing her mom at the mercy of Chisaki.
"It's over. You've lost." The madman said preparing to use his Quirk on Yang as she struggled to get out of his grasp.
"D-damn you… Chisaki." Yang grunted.
"MOM." Scythe screamed, before time stood still, and everything went grey.
"Seems you're in a real bind here." Scythe recognized that voice, and turned to see the Goddess of Darkness from Remnant, Luna. "This does not look good for any of you, not one bit."
"Please, you have to save her." Scythe pleaded.
"Hmm, I could, but do I really want to?" Luna asked, stepping up next to Scythe.
"Please Big Sis Luna, you have to. I'll do anything you ask, just please save my mom." Scythe begged.
"Anything huh?" Luna smiled. "Well, in that case I do have one thing I'd like for you to do for me."
"Anything." Scythe cried.
"I want you to become an assassin." Luna said.
"W-what?"
"It shouldn't be that hard for you." Luna jeered. "Numerous times on Remnant, you've taken the lives of those who chased you, who wanted to turn you into a lab rat, or a weapon. But now, what I'm asking you to do, is to kill for money."
"B-but what… where would I…"
"Don't worry about the details. Just know that I'm gonna send you to a world that will give you a fair reason to become an assassin." Luna exclaimed. "An' as soon as your job is complete, I'll return you to Earth to be with Yang and everyone else again."
Luna reached behind her back, and set down a white cloak wrapped package, with a curved, rounded bottom, and a familiar scent to it.
"Granny Summer's cloak?" Scythe asked.
"She wrapped it around a few things she planned on giving you to aid in your fight if you ever joined in on it." Luna exclaimed. "But you're gonna need it more where you're going."
"Alright, if it means you'll save my mom, I'll do it." Scythe said.
"Perfect." Luna smiled, putting a finger to Scythe's chest, as her Faunus traits vanished in a wave of red light, and Yang's fiery heart emblem appeared on her chest, red as blood. "Your Faunus traits will have to be hidden as there aren't any people in the world I'm sending you to, with traits like that, unless they use a certain Imperial Arms. If you find her, then ask her to join Night Raid."
"Night Raid?" Scythe repeated.
"Good luck." Luna smiled, snapping her fingers, before everything went white.
~End Flashback~
'After that, I found myself here in this world. A nice lady with blonde hair found me, took me in, and after I ate my fill, I passed out, waking up in here with these two, or this guy now, Ieyasu I think his name was, and I've been here for numerous days now.' Scythe thought, looking up at the guy who sat across from her with a white headband on his forehead. 'Thankfully Luna left me with my sense of smell and hearing, must have left me with my immune system to, otherwise I'd be as sick as him by now. The woman infected him with some kind of plague, it smells curable, but unless I activate whatever Luna did to me, I'm unable to use my magic, I don't know how to activate whatever it is she turned my power into, so I can't help him. I feel so useless, even One-for-All has been stored away into whatever Luna did, so I can't break out and go get help. An' the woman, with such beautiful black hair, same as Mama's, died of shock from the amount of pain she was put through.'
"Hey."
Scythe looked up, and saw the sickly man looking at her. His voice was hoarse and sounded real bad like it had been worn out.
"Don't beat yourself up over this. There's nothing a kid like you could have done to stop whatever it is that woman did to us. All you can do, is pray Sayo and I, find peace." He said, before coughing.
Scythe just curled up even tighter, wanting this all to go away, and be nothing more than a bad dream, that she'd wake up anywhere other than there.
Her ears perked up, hearing a noise coming from outside, it sounded like they were in a bit of a panic.
"Oh great you made it." A man said. "I'll hide the young lady and wait for the guards. See what you can do to stall the enemy until then got it?"
'The young lady? That bitch who tortured me and Sayo for the past two days?' Scythe thought as she got to her feet, and gripped the bars of the cell tightly.
"You really expect me to take out…" The boy's voice stopped when the sound of rushing wind resounded, and there was a moment of silence. "Well, looks like it's too late to complain." The young man said, as the sound of a sword being drawn could be heard. He sounded confident in himself, but also scarred at the same time.
'Is he a new recruit to the guards?' Scythe questioned.
"You're not a target." A young woman's voice resounded from outside the door.
"Damn it." The guard shouted before the sound of gunfire could be heard outside the doors to the Nobel's prison.
"But you are." Scythe managed to hear the young girl say over the sound of the gunfire, before the squelching sound of flesh being sliced reached her ears.
'A katana.' Scythe thought, recognizing the sound that type of weapon made when slicing flesh, before a young girl's scream reached her ears. 'Finish her.'
"You deserve this." The young woman said.
"Stop right there." The other young man's voice cut through.
It didn't sound like metal had cut through any flesh, so it seemed he had stopped her.
"I told you you're not a target. You don't have to die." The young woman exclaimed.
"Yeah well I can't let you murder a helpless little girl." The newcomer said.
"Mmhmm. So you won't step aside?"
"Well I'm not gonna back down now."
'Helpless little girl? She tortures people for the fun of it. If he's a new recruit then wouldn't he know that, unless… he's not a new recruit, he's a potential victim who doesn't understand?' Scythe thought.
"That sounds like Tatsumi." Ieyasu exclaimed forcing himself to stand.
"Then you've made your choice."
There was nothing but the sound of roaring wind coming from outside, as it seemed like neither of them had made their moves yet.
"They must be sizing each of their opponents up. What is he thinking? Why doesn't he just let the woman kill the girl?" Ieyasu asked.
"He doesn't know what she's been doing in here." Scythe said. "He thinks she's harmless, wouldn't hurt a fly. He's ignorant to what she really is, and was most likely gonna be her next victim." Scythe exclaimed before the sound of swords clashing caught their attention.
The scuffle lasted outside for about a second, before the sound of a blade piercing a block of wood, echoed around them.
"Ah, Tatsumi." The familiar voice of their torturer echoed in mock fear.
There was a moment of silence before Tatsumi began speaking again.
"Why'd you back off all of a sudden?" He asked.
"Because it felt like I hit some kind of armor."
"I guess the villagers were looking out for me after all."
"She must have hit the idol the chief gave Tatsumi."
"She must die."
"Oh, hey wait a minute lady, you just said you wanted to steal this girl's money didn't you? You don't have to kill her." Tatsumi said. "This isn't a war, there's no reason to kill innocent people, please."
"Hold up." A new voice said.
"What are you doing?" The first woman asked.
'She must have stopped the other woman from dealing the final blow.' Scythe thought.
"We've got some time left. An' I kinda owe this guy a favor, I'm pretty sure he'd like to cash it in now."
"Hey you're that girl with the boobs." Tatsumi shouted.
"Did he have to identify her like that?" Scythe questioned.
"Classic Tatsumi." Ieyasu sighed shaking his head with slowly, before coughing.
"Ah yep that's what they call me."
"She sounds like she's just as much a partier as mom." Scythe sighed.
"Listen, earlier you were concerned we were here to kill innocent people." The newcomer said as the sound of footsteps approaching the warehouse echoed on the ground. "I think you might see things differently when you see what's behind that door."
Scythe had to cover her eyes when the door was kicked in, before she looked up and her eyes widened with what she saw.
'Mom?' Scythe thought.
Standing there, stood what could have been a carbon copy of a long haired Yang, wearing a revealing outfit with a black tube top, detachable sleeves, pants, boots and a scarf around her neck, with lion ears on her head and her hands covered in golden blonde fur. Around her neck and on her back, she had Scythe's stuff, she obviously grabbed it from wherever the noble woman had put it. Breast Size: J-Cup.
Coming from outside, with a shocked expression filled with horror was a young man of average height with green eyes and medium length brown hair with a cowlick that falls with its weight. He wore a white, high collar jacket over a tan sweater vest, a pair of black pants, brown gloves and combat boots.
Behind them, stood a young girl with long black hair that reaches down to her knees and red eyes. She wears a dark sleeveless mini dress with a white collar and a red tie. Around her waist she wears a red belt that has a red side skirt cover. She wears her skirt with long black socks and black shoes. She also wears red gauntlets similar to her own, and black gloves under them, with a long sheathed katana at her side. Breast Size: F-Cup.
"Here it is. Welcome to the capital kid." The blonde exclaimed.
"What is all this?" Tatsumi asked.
"We learned that they fancied picking up newcomers from the countryside, and then torture them to death for their own sick twisted entertainment." The blonde explained as he began to look around. "That's the reality of this poor, innocent, happy little family."
'No don't look in that direction.' Scythe panicked, knowing whose hanging corpse was in that area. 'If you are Tatsumi, then you're gonna be heartbroken.'
"Sayo." Tatsumi said in horror. "No that, that's Sayo."
"Do you know who that girl is?"
"Hey stop her." Scythe shouted noticing the noble's daughter sneaking away, while also alerting them of her presence.
"A child?" The black haired girl asked in shock.
"Woopsie. You didn't really think we were through with you yet, did you sweetie pie?" The blonde asked, grabbing the noble's daughter by the head and pulling her back. "Strangers who are old enough to travel are one thing, but a child, now I'd have taken this job for free if I had known you were torturing a child."
"These people really did this?" Tatsumi asked.
"Yes they did, and their guards are just as guilty for keeping it hidden." The blonde exclaimed.
"She's lying. I had no idea anything like that was going on." The Noble daughter exclaimed. "Who would you believe? These-these murderers, or the one who saved you?"
"Lies." Scythe shouted pressing up against the bars of the cage. "I've been in here, for days, and every day, you came in here and put me through hell, torturing me, and Sayo, before she died from the shock and pain."
"Tatsumi." Ieyasu said reaching his arm out the bars.
Tatsumi's eyes left the lifeless form of Sayo and traveled to where Ieyasu and Scythe were, his eyes landing on her and her sickly cell mate.
"Is that… is it you?" Ieyasu asked, sounding like he was convincing himself more than anyone. "It's me."
"I-Ieyasu?" Tatsumi questioned.
"She invited us to stay at her house. She gave us something to eat, and then everything went black, then we woke up here. An' then, and then that girl, that girl tortured Sayo to death, while also torturing this child." Ieyasu said, as he began to cry.
"Fine, fine. So I did it okay?" The girl said enraged, slapping the blonde's hand away. "These trash are just worthless filth. They're nothing but, but livestock for me to use as I see fit. Garbage like those two, don't have the right to such beautiful hair. Mine is always giving me trouble, so I treated them extra special, but the little girl still lives. They should be honored that I gave them so much attention, ungrateful pigs."
"Sorry honey, I don't mean to interrupt your little tantrum here." The blonde said. "But you are kinda disturbing."
"I'll kill her." The black haired girl said.
"Wait." Tatsumi said.
"Huh? You're kidding, you're still going to defend her?" The blonde asked.
"No." Tatsumi said, gripping the hilt of his sword, and slicing the girl down. "I'll do it."
"Hehehe. That was so good." Scythe smiled.
"Thank you Tatsumi. I needed to see that." Ieyasu said before he began to vomit large amounts of blood.
The blonde came over to the cell and gripped the bars tightly before prying them open, allowing Tatsumi to grab Ieyasu, and the blonde to grab Scythe.
"You're gonna be okay." She said.
"Thanks, Ms. Lion."
"Call me Leone." She said softly.
"No." Tatsumi said in panic, laying Ieyasu down.
"It's the Lubola Virus." The black haired girl said. "The mother enjoyed poisoning her victims with different medicines. She even kept a diary detailing each victim's reactions. It's too late for him."
"Tatsumi." Ieyasu said, wanting to say his goodbyes.
"Ieyasu."
"You should know, that Sayo never did break, she never let herself give in." Ieyasu said. "An' Scythe, the little girl, she's strong for her age… she didn't break either, she just grit her teeth, through all the pain. They were incredible. So, I wanted to… to go out… a hero." Ieyasu said, raising his right hand, and clenching his fist, before it fell to the ground, caught by Tatsumi, with a smile on his face.
"His strong will is all that kept him alive." The black haired girl said.
"What the hell is wrong with this place?" Tatsumi asked as he held Ieyasu closer.
"Let's go." The black haired girl said.
"Hey don't you think we should bring him with us?" Leone asked, pointing at Tatsumi.
"Take me to." Scythe said loudly, raising her arm with a determined look on her face.
"Sorry sweetie. But where we're going is not a place for children." Leone said, dragging Tatsumi behind her.
"I don't care." Scythe exclaimed. "You're with Night Raid, right? Let me join."
"What could a shrimp like you know about being an assassin?" Leone questioned.
"For starters I know that your sense of keen smell and hearing makes you one hell of a good tracker and recon specialist. Not to mention your strength makes for handling large groups a piece of cake." Scythe said, feeling exhaustion take over, but pushed herself through it. "Look, I've got nowhere else to go, I've got no food, no money, no home to call my own, and no family either. I've had to spend most of what little life I've lived, surviving on my own, my body is covered in scars that go beyond what that little bitch did to me over the past five days, and I've got one or two that makes what she did to me, look like papercuts."
"I like your attitude kid." Leone smiled. "Alright, I'll give you a chance."
"Great." Scythe smiled, allowing the exhaustion to overtake her. "One more thing. Could you give me back my stuff? It's on your back."
"Hmm?" Leone inquired catching Scythe as she passed out.
"Her stuff?" The black haired girl asked.
"She must mean this thing I found in the mother's room when I went looking through the manor." Leone said, pointing with her thumb to the pack around her neck. "Why don't you take her, and I'll take him?"
"Are you sure about this?" She asked.
"It'll be fine Akame. Don't worry so much." Leone said, picking Tatsumi up bridal style, much to his displeasure, and began running for the rendezvous point.
Upon reaching it, they were greeted by three other people. One of them dressed in a full body suit of armor, another in a green trench coat, and the third in a pink dress.
"You're late." The pink haired girl said. "What took you so long, and who are those two?"
"New recruits." Leone said, her hair short, and her hands no longer covered in fur.
"Huh?" Tatsumi asked, his struggling stopped and looking up at her questioningly.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention." Leone said, dropping him. "Starting today you're part of the team. Congratulations, you two just joined the Night Raid."
"What of the little girl?" The man in the suit of armor asked.
"She personally requested she join. She gave solid reasons as to why she'd want to, plus, she was a victim of the daughter of that noble man." Leone stated.
"I see. I can take her." The man in the armor said.
"You sure Bulat?" Akame asked.
"Yeah it's fine." He said, smiling under his helmet as he took Scythe into his arms. "Leone, you're gonna have to take the new guy."
"Roger that."
"Wait don't I get a say in this?" Tatsumi asked.
"Just give up, Leone always gets her way." Akame said.
"Look at that, my best friend knows how it works." Leone smiled before grabbing Tatsumi again.
"The mission is now complete, we're heading back." Akame said before they all left.
"Huh, where are we going?" Tatsumi questioned.
~Hideout the next morning~
Scythe began opening her eyes, feeling well rested and a little confused as to what was going on.
"Oh, you're finally awake."
Scythe turned her head to see Leone sitting at her bedside, her hair shorter and a bright smile on her face.
'She really does look just like mom.' Scythe thought.
"So how you feeling? We changed your bandages and patched up the wounds on your torso. You weren't kidding when you said you've been through some shit." Leone said. "Anyways, Akame and I also cleaned you up before patching up your body. So why don't you get dressed and I can show you and Tatsumi around? We'll just have to get him from the Cliffside where his friend's graves are."
Scythe nodded, pivoting herself to the edge of the bed, before noticing all her things were laid out on the desk in the room she was in. The white cloak that was tied around them was also folded up neatly on the desk.
"We looked through your things. Not sure what these are." Leone said holding up Scythe's holstered weapons. "But what really surprised us was this." Leone exclaimed picking up a picture of Scythe with Yang and Blake, back when they both still had long hair. "I'm sorry if my appearance last night had brought up some memories."
"It's fine." Scythe said. "I'll be seeing them again someday."
Leone sighed, gaining a saddened look, as she thought Scythe was talking about the day she would die.
'Kid probably has a suicide wish. Wants to die and rejoin her family, that's why she asked to join Night Raid.' Leone thought. 'Death is an occupational hazard for an assassin.'
"Well, enough moping around. Let's get to that tour." Leone said grabbing Scythe's hero costume and handing it to her.
About ten minutes later, Scythe and Leone were walking through the halls, Scythe dressed in her hero form fitting costume, consisting of a black titanium based carbon fiber mesh undershirt, with a breastplate similar to Pyrrha Nikos's, scarlet red with gold trimmings, only instead of being made of metal, it was made of the same fiber her undershirt was comprised of, in fact every part of it was comprised of the material, with form fitting black pants, and combat heeled boots.
The vambraces were simple in design, black for the fabric, and white for the metallic parts on the back of her forearms and hands, highly resembling samurai vambraces similar to Akame's in design, that were magnetically attached to the fingerless gloves under them. The magnetic holsters for her weapons were strapped to the small of her back. The top was sleeveless and left her back from the shoulder blades up, exposed, allowing for her to spread her wings if she needed to. She tied a red sash around her waist, making sure she didn't obscure the magnetic holsters, as they went to where Tatsumi was kneeling in a prayer position.
'This world's customs are very similar to customs from Japan.' Scythe thought.
Scythe's thoughts were interrupted when Leone bent over behind Tatsumi, and rested her giant chest on his head.
After jumping out from under her mammaries, Tatsumi turned around, standing dangerously close to the edge.
"Don't sneak up on me like that." Tatsumi exclaimed.
"So have you decided to officially join yet?" Leone asked.
"I have." Scythe said raising her arm as if answering a question in a classroom.
"I told you guys…" Tatsumi began before Leone stopped him by burying his face into her chest.
"You really do have the makings of an assassin you know." Leone said, poking his cheek.
"It's not a matter of whether or not I'd be good at it all right? I just don't, wanna kill people." Tatsumi said.
"Your actions last night said differently." Scythe said.
"I was blind with rage, that girl and her family murdered my two best friends." Tatsumi stated.
"Well I'm gonna introduce you both to the guys anyway." Leone smiled, dragging Tatsumi along by the throat.
"Let me go, my neck." Tatsumi complained as Scythe followed closely behind.
First stop was the dining hall, where a purple haired woman was sitting at the table reading a book. This is Sheele. Breast Size: I-Cup.
"Oh? He still doesn't want to be part of the team, in spite of all that's happened?" She asked.
"He's a bit hesitant. Scythe however immediately agreed to join the instant she woke up." Leone said. "So I was hoping you could give him a few words of encouragement okay?"
"Hmm… Well since we showed you the location of our hideout, if we can't convince you to join the team, then you'll be dead." Sheele stated.
"Uh is that supposed to be encouragement or a threat?" Tatsumi asked.
"Just give it plenty of thought okay?" Sheele said, picking her book back up.
"100 Ways to Mend Your Airheaded Ways?" Scythe asked, reading the title out loud.
'Oh my god these guys are a bunch of circus freaks.' Tatsumi thought.
"What the hell?" The pink dressed and haired girl from the night before asked. This is, Mine. Breast Size: B-Cup. "Leone, why'd you bring these two back to the hideout?" She questioned pointing at Scythe and Tatsumi.
"They're both one of us now." Leone said.
"An' did no one think to ask for my opinion?" Mine questioned.
"Why should your opinion matter? It's not like you're the boss here." Scythe said.
"What was that you little shrimp?" Mine asked, a fire burning in her eyes.
"Alright, settle down you two." Leone said. "Though I will admit that comeback was a good one."
"I won't allow it." Mine said. "It's obvious you're both not cut from the same professional cloth as the rest of the group. I mean just look at you both. Those clothes are plane and unstylish on you, and hers are way to revealing and form fitting to be worn by someone her age."
"You're just jealous because I can pull it off, and you can't." Scythe smirked.
"Shut it you little brat." Mine glared.
"Make me you pink haired bimbo." Scythe countered.
"Okay, that's enough." Leone said. "Mine, whether you like it or not, both Tatsumi and Scythe are part of the team. So just deal with it."
The next stop in the base was the training area, where a large muscle bound man with a heart shaped pompadour was practicing his swinging technique in spear training.
"This is our practice field, where we go to let off some steam." Leone said.
"Who's that?" Scythe asked. "I feel like I've met him before."
"He's the guy who carried you to the hideout after you had passed out last night." Leone exclaimed. "That's Bulat."
"Incredible, he's really good with a spear. I wonder how well I'd fair against him with my katana's." Scythe asked.
Bulat continued to swing and strike the air with his spear, before releasing off a final attack, which sent a shockwave through the air.
"He's good." Scythe said.
"Oh, aren't you the two we picked up the other day?" Bulat asked walking over to them.
"Wait how do you know about that?" Tatsumi asked.
"Huh? Oh right, I should have known you wouldn't have recognized me like this. I was wearing my armor the first time we met." Bulat exclaimed.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Scythe." She said reaching out her hand for him to shake. "The newest, and youngest member, of Night Raid."
"Name's Bulat, pleasures mine." Bulat smiled, shaking her hand, then reaching it out to shake Tatsumi's.
"An' yes, he's gay." Leone said.
"Geh." Tatsumi was shocked, and retracted his hand.
"Haha. Now don't give him the wrong idea… yet." Bulat said.
"I don't see how that should be a problem." Scythe said, leaning against a fence post. "I was raised by two lesbians."
'I can think of a lot of wrong ideas.' Tatsumi thought.
The next stop was the river banks, which Leone motioned for the two of them to remain quiet and sneak around through the trees and bushes, finding a green haired man waiting for something. This is Lubbock, residential perv and a taller, green version of Scythe's classmate Kaminari.
"Hehe. It's almost time for Leone's bath. I'd do just about anything for a sneak peek at that smoking hot body." The green haired, green jacket wearing young man said not noticing the three of them behind him.
"In that case… how about you give up two fingers." Leone said, making her presence known behind him. "An' stop being such a perverted bad example for the kid."
He turned to stone before he screamed as Leone twisted his wrist, and threw him to the ground, pulling his arm behind his back.
"You never learn, do you?"
"Ow-ow-ow-ow."
"Next time, I'll break your arm." Leone exclaimed. "This is Lubbock. As you can see, he's an idiot."
Lastly they went to visit Akame at her usual hunting location, further down the river bank.
"Let's see, whose next?" Leone asked.
"I don't know how many more I can take." Tatsumi said.
"The next one's a cutie, so try not to stare." Leone said. "She's stuffing her face over there by the fire."
Scythe and Tatsumi looked to where Leone was pointing and Scythe's eyes gained stars and she began to drool, as she spotted the giant roasting bird on the spike.
"Hey Akame." Leone said, having to keep Scythe from just running up to the bird and eating it. She knew how badly that would turn out.
Akame turned around to look at them, while she was biting off a piece of meat.
'An' there's this freak.' Tatsumi thought. "I'm just now realizing she's eating a giant bird. Did she kill that thing herself?"
"Akame is our resident wild child, or was, now that we've got two of them." Leone said, patting Scythe on the head.
"Leone have some." Akame said, tossing some meat to Leone.
"Thanks." Leone smiled biting into it.
Akame just starred at Tatsumi and Scythe for a moment before she spoke.
"Well, have you joined us yet?" Akame questioned.
"No." Tatsumi said.
"Then I'm sorry, but I won't be sharing any of my dinner with you." Akame said.
'I'm okay with that.' Tatsumi said.
"I've joined." Scythe said.
Akame smiled softly and tossed her a big piece of the bird.
"Hey no fair, how come she gets a bigger helping?" Leone asked.
"Because she most likely hasn't eaten in days. Honestly the first thing you should have done after she woke up was take her to get some food." Akame said before Scythe tossed the now bare bone away. "Have some more." Akame said, tossing her a second piece.
"I guess that's fair." Leone sighed. "Is it just me or is everyone else a little jacked up today?"
"That's 'cause the boss is back." Akame said.
"Hmm?" Scythe asked, looking up while munching on the meat.
She followed Leone to the other side of the fire, to see a silver haired woman with an eyepatch, a robotic right arm, wearing a black suit. Breast Size: G-Cup.
"Boss." Leone said cheerfully.
"Hey." Boss said.
"Welcome back, did you bring me anything good?" Leone asked.
"Now why would I do that?" Boss asked. "About one of your most recent assignments. I was told you completed it, three days overdue."
"Hold on, is she talking about the job you did last night?" Scythe asked, looking at Leone. "I could have been spared three of the five days of hell I went through, if you had just decided to get it done on time?"
"Ah crap." Leone said as she began to make a run for it.
Scythe side stepped, just in time to avoid a mechanical hand from hitting her face, and smiled when she heard Leone complaining as she was dragged back by the Boss's mechanical hand.
"When facing a powerful opponent, it's foolish to get caught up in the fun. I'd assume a veteran assassin would know better." Scythe said, finishing the meat off the bone.
"You're rather smart for your age girly." Boss said. "So who are you and the boy?"
"Thank you for the compliment, name's Scythe ma'am." Scythe said turning and standing at attention in front of her. "One of two new recruits joining the Night Raid Ranks."
"As for Tatsumi. He's gonna be joining us." Leone said standing back up.
"I haven't agreed to anything." Tatsumi exclaimed.
"Do they seem promising?" Boss asked Leone.
"Tatsumi, absolutely. Scythe, I'm kinda on the fence about. But she seems determined to prove herself." Leone said.
"Her body is covered in scars, meaning she's survived and been in a lot of battles, and she has some kind of blood sigil on her chest, right below her collar bone." Akame added.
"A blood sigil?" Boss asked.
"Yeah, that's right. It's a flaming heart of some kind." Leone said.
"Child, come here and let me see this sigil." Boss said.
Scythe shrugged her shoulders and stepped towards Boss, before removing her breastplate. She heard a crack from behind and figured Leone or Akame must have cracked Tatsumi's neck when turning him around to keep him from looking at her.
Showing the sigil to the Boss, Scythe got a little uncomfortable when she looked at it a little more intently.
"It can't be… I thought there was only one, but there are still so many unaccounted for." Boss said.
"What's up boss?" Leone asked.
"This sigil on her chest isn't anything ordinary." Boss said. "This is the mark of a Blood Imperial Arms."
"Are you serious?" Akame asked.
"Her mother must have drank the blood when she was pregnant, thus creating a living, breathing Imperial Arms, with her own personality, free will, and soul." Leone said. "Scythe, do you know how to use your Imperial Arms?"
"My what?" Scythe asked.
"It looks like she doesn't even know what power she possesses." Boss said. "Leone you'll be in charge of training her to use it. I have a feeling it's something similar to yours."
"Yes Ma'am." Leone smiled.
"Alright, now since we have all that settled. Akame, gather everyone together, I want to hear about everything from the report, including about those two" Boss said.
~One hour later~
"Thank you all. I think I understand the situation here." Boss said. "It's clear Scythe doesn't know how to use her Imperial Arms at all, otherwise she wouldn't have been in need of your help, which only raising further warrant for her training."
"Ma'am." Leona smiled.
Everyone was gathered around Boss as she sat in her chair, while Leone made sure to keep Scythe as far away from Mine, as she could given the circumstances, since she was standing in the center with Tatsumi.
"Tatsumi. How would you like to be the official newest member of Night Raid? Since Scythe joined last night, she'd technically be your superior." Boss said.
"You're gonna kill me if I refuse to join right?" Tatsumi asked.
"No, we won't kill you. But we wouldn't let you leave either. You'd have to remain here and work in our factory. Either way, we won't take your life, but I do encourage you to join." Boss explained. "You're choice."
"I uh… I just wanted to make a lot of money in the imperial capital so I could be able to save my village from starvation." Tatsumi exclaimed. "But the capital wasn't what I thought."
"Tatsumi." Bulat said. "Corruption in the capital is creating mass poverty all over the country side. Don't you want to uproot all that corruption at the source, like a man would?"
"Bulat used to be a high ranking officer in the Imperial Army, but he joined us when he realized what was really going on in the capital." Boss said.
"So if we don't do something about the scum terrorizing the capital, then it's never gonna get cleaned up." Bulat said. "So it's our job to take out those bastards whenever we get the chance."
"That's fine, but I don't think you can make a real big difference just by eliminating a couple of rotten eggs here and there. I mean doing things this way, won't save places like my village." Tatsumi exclaimed.
"That's correct." Boss said. "An' that's exactly why Night Raid's the perfect fit for you."
"Uh, why is that?" Tatsumi questioned.
"There's an Anti-Empire group, called the Revolutionary Army that has a hideout south of the Capital." Boss explained.
"A whole army?" Tatsumi questioned.
"They started out small, but they've grown into a rather formidable organization. They needed a special unit, to specialize in covert operations, such as recon and assassinating targets." Boss explained. "That's why they created, Night Raid. We're only putting out one fire at a time right now, but when the Revolutionary Army decides to make its move, amidst the chaos, we'll head straight for the cause of this mess. The Minister."
"So you're gonna… kill him?" Tatsumi asked.
"Only then will our nation truly see change." Boss exclaimed.
"Makes sense." Scythe said, gaining a contemplative look on her face. "If the Minister really is behind this, then that must mean the Emperor is quite young, or the Minister has been controlling him since he was young."
"The Emperor is actually around your age Scythe." Bulat said.
"So if our nation had a new start, you really think all the people would be safe and happy again?" Tatsumi questioned.
"I am certain." Boss said.
"I-I love it, it's like you guys are taking out the trash, killing off the bad guys one by one." Tatsumi said. "You're a rogue team of assassins for the sake of justice."
Everyone who wasn't Tatsumi, Boss, or Akame, began laughing, even Scythe laughed.
"Oh he so precious." Bulat laughed.
"What's I say, why's everyone laughing?" Tatsumi asked.
"Tatsumi, no matter how you describe it, we're still murderers." Leona said, gaining a predatory gleam in her eye.
"An' there's no justice to be found in the way we do things." Sheele stated.
"Any given moment, every one of us, could be forced to atone for the blood that we've spilt." Bulat said.
"Man he has no idea. Even the brat knows better than him to think that way." Mine said. "It'll be a thousand years before he can handle it."
"Hold on." Tatsumi said. "I uh…"
"Every team member fights for a different reason. But each bears a strong resolve. Are you prepared to risk your life?" Boss asked.
"You guys are gonna pay me for this, aren't you?" Tatsumi asked.
"Yes. An' if you work hard enough, I think you'll make more than enough to save your village." Boss said.
"Then I wanna do it." Tatsumi said. "Please allow me to be part of Night Raid."
"You probably won't be going back to them as some hero you know." Mine exclaimed.
"I know, but that doesn't matter to me as long as they'll be taken care of." Tatsumi said.
"Works for me." Boss smiled. "Prepare yourselves, for a life like any other. Welcome to Night Raid. You're dismissed for the night. Leone, I want you to help Scythe activate her Blood Imperial Arms, by the end of the night."
"Yes ma'am." Leone said.
"Akame." Boss said. "You're in charge of training Tatsumi for now. Scythe will join you when she's unlocked her Imperial Arms."
"Right." Akame said.
"If either of them become nuisances feel free to kill them." Boss said.
"Hmm, no problem." Akame stated.
"Hmhmm, better do a good job if you wanna live." Leone smirked putting her hands on their shoulders. "Alright now Scythe, you're with me."
"Right." Scythe said, following Leone.
Setting themselves up in the training area, Scythe sat next to Leone in a meditative position, and she had no idea what they were doing.
"Okay so first, we're gonna try getting you to establish a mental link with your Imperial Arms. I want you to close your eyes, and take in several deep breaths." Leone said.
Scythe did, and put her fists together, as she took in deep breaths to calm her heartbeat.
"Very good. Now I want you to clear your mind, try finding something inside you that could be your Imperial Arms' connection to you." Leone said.
Scythe continued to breathe in deeply, before she cleared her mind of all her racing thoughts, wanting to find a connection to her power that she could activate instantly. After what felt like twenty minutes, of sitting and doing nothing in a large empty room filled with nothing but black space, Scythe decided to try something different, as all children get bored of just sitting around, doing nothing.
Scythe imagine a console, sitting right in front of her, with a certain amount of controls on them. She imagined that there were three main parts for the console. One for her Godslayer Magic, one for the percentage of her output for One-for-All, and one for her Aura and Semblance, and when she should use it.
The controls for her magic were in the center, her Aura and Semblance to the left, and One-for-All to the right, with a big red button covered by a glass lid and a fingerprint scanner for three of her fingers to remove the lock, below it was a knob with a digital clock screen she had to twist to set the percentage of One-for-All with a black button to press to lock the percentage in.
On the center console, there were two other buttons, one for the Darkness form she used to defeat Muscular when the League of Villains attacked the training camp, and another for a Light form, most likely the power she got from Tia.
'That big red button on the console to my right, is for going beyond 100% of One-for-All, it's what would be considered my ace in the hole. But for now, let's activate my Argonaut Form.' Scythe thought pressing the activation button under the controls for her magic.
Back outside in reality, the sigil on Scythe's chest brightly glowed with energy before a ring of fire erupted into a pillar around Scythe, surprising Leone out of her meditation. A minute passed before it died down, and Scythe was in her Argonaut form, her ears and scales completely visible as she was now in her mid-teens.
"Whoa, no way. You did it Scythe, you actually managed to activate your Imperial Arms. An' you're quite the cutie to." Leone smirked as Scythe opened her eyes and looked up at her. "C'mon, we gotta show this to the Boss."
"W-wait." Scythe cried out as Leone dragged Scythe by the arm to where everyone was eating dinner.
"Hey everyone, check it out." Leone said, standing Scythe up on her feet, while her eyes were swirls from Leone dragging her around.
"Leone, another one?" Mine asked. "Weren't the two last night enough to join our group?"
"Hey I don't mind if she brings more members in. Especially if they're cuties like her." Lubbock said with a smile.
"No, look. It's Scythe. She's activated her Blood Imperial Arms, and turned into a total hottie. An' it only took two hours of meditation to do it." Leone smirked.
"Pedo-perv." Akame said looking at Lubbock, much to his dismay.
"Alright that's enough teasing Lubbock." Boss snickered. "Let me get a look at her."
Boss came to Scythe and began looking her over, making her feel uncomfortable as she had her raise her arms, and felt her body up and down.
'She's probably just making sure I have a strong form, and good muscle definition.' Scythe thought, before she blushed as Boss felt her cat ears. "Please stop. Those are sensitive."
"Hmm, well she's got good form, a figure Mine couldn't possibly hope to achieve."
"Hey." Mine said in annoyance.
"Her muscle percentage if I were to make a guess is close to Leone's when she uses her Imperial Arms, and her physique shows she's got potential for incredible agility and is built for speed based combat like Akame." Boss said. "After you finish your training with Akame tomorrow, we'll take you somewhere you can test what your abilities are. But I must say, I've never seen an Imperial Arms that could make someone physically older. Try to maintain that for as long as you can, then we can see what your limitations on it are."
"Uh, all right." Scythe said.
"Oh and Leone, I know you're wondering this, so I'll tell you. Her measurements are as follows, B94-W59-H85." Boss said.
"All right." Leone smirked.
"I feel violated." Scythe said hugging herself and shivering a bit.
"Ah don't sweat it. I only wanted to know that because I know all the measurements of every girl on the team. Reason being, I like to treat all my gal pals with new clothes every once in a while. So don't worry." Leone said, wrapping one arm around her.
"Why don't you two join us before the food gets cold?" Akame suggested.
"Good idea. We could use the nourishment." Leone smiled.
Scythe and Leone sat at the table and began to dig in, with the others making comments with how they were impressed with Scythe's form, even asking her what she wanted to call it.
"I think I'll call this… my Argonaut form." Scythe said. "But, if it's all right with everyone, could you all call me Athena? I'd prefer to start my adventure with you all, with a new name."
"Athena? Like the Goddess of War and Wisdom?" Boss asked.
"Yeah, it may sound silly, but I've always admired the stories of Athena, and wanted to be as close to her as possible." Scythe said. 'Not a complete lie, but I'd rather not have my actual name slip out to the public if I ever get identified on a job.'
"Well, if you're wanting to change your name. I don't see why not." Boss smiled. "Welcome to Night Raid, Athena."