Akame reentered the camp holding her left arm in place, blood was gushing from her deeply wounded shoulder and she could barely move the limb. It took less than a few seconds for Qrow to reach her and begin to care for her wounds
"Are you okay?" he asked after she let out a slow nod he called out for Sienna
"Fine I am fine." Akame answered feeling herself sway a little, the world around her seemed to lose color as she began to close her eyes a bit
"You're bleeding a lot!" he reasoned as she dropped to her knees, he fell along with her "Please keep your eyes open." Qrow said as she blinked for longer than she was hoping over and over again until everything went silent and dark
(o)
Qrow let out a sigh as Sienna walked up to him, after she and the medics arrived he left, it was the best thing he could do for her but Sienna seemed pissed that he left her so quickly
"Is she okay?! What happened?" he quickly questioned grabbing the woman who pushed his hands off of her
"If you came with us into surgery you would know." Sienna said as she walk towards the center of camp
"I... cant do that... once she is stable I'll go see her." he said avoiding the subject of his absents "Do you know when Leone'll get here? Or whoever you think Leone is."
"I'd say a few hours at least. A few days at most, she didn't respond, and I am pretty certain that it's the same person were looking for." she said with a shrug, with a sigh Qrow began in the direction that Akame came from
"Where are you going?" she asked watching as he walked following a small trail of blood
"Where do you think? Someone has to go get the body." he answered in a tone that betrayed nothing about his feelings, but he did take quite a large drink from his flask before walking into the woods
(o)
flying over the forest he made his way to a clearing that had many destroyed trees in it and the clearing itself hadn't been there before, landing on a branch he looked around until his eyes landed on a young girl slumped against a tree, transforming back he walked over to her and found that her eyes were closed and she had a smile on her face, with a sigh he picked her up and began to walk back towards the camp ignoring the cold sensation that began to run down his body
(o)
Leone sighed as she entered the camp and looked around at the people occupying it, they shot glances at her but they quickly became smiles when they recognized her from town or for saving their leader
"Does anyone know where Sienna is?" Leone asked earning a nod from one of the guys who was carrying a few boxes he then pointed towards a tent near the center of camp, walking over to it she pushed the flap open and found Sienna and Ghira talking while staring at a map covered in X's
"We cant follow him into the forest, it'd end up being a bloodbath if he would be able to rally his troops." Ghira said earning a sigh from Sienna
"He wont be able to get anyone to follow him, he got his entire strike force killed and failed to destroy the CCT, it shows that he is completely incompetent." Sienna countered "I know the Fang better than you."
"Fine. But we wont be able to track him down with our forces, Adam was always... resourceful. " Ghira relented with a sigh
"Blake still has his blade so... oh... Leone." Sienna said turning towards her
"Yo, I guess you have something for me." she said placing her hands on her belt
"Less of something and more of someone. Come on." she said walking out of the tent guiding Leone through the camp, people were constantly waving at her as they walked
"Surprisingly you have become quite popular among my faction." Sienna said causing Leone to hum
"Not a fan of the attention though." Leone said waving at a small group of people
"Coulda fooled me given how your dressed." Sienna commented looking her up and down
"Well if I can distract my opponents then all the better when I crush the life out of them." Leone commented with a shrug "Besides back home dressing like this was common place." Leone added earning a raised eyebrow from Sienna
"Are things that bad back on Menagerie?" Sienna asked, clearly she hadn't been back to Menagerie in a long time, like most in the White Fang they didn't remember their home, or even cared for them, it irritated her a bit but Sienna did her a good turn so she didn't mention it
"No I meant... not here... other world stuff." Leone vaguely answered with a shrug as they entered a tent, looking around it was clearly a medical tent, looking at a nearby bed she felt her heart skip a beat, walking forward she placed her hand on the girl lying there, sitting down on her knees she leaned in close and inhaled, this girl was Akame and there was no mistaking it, lightly shaking her Akame blinked her eyes open her red eyes immediately locked onto her yellow ones
"Leone?" she asked her voice was neutral
"Whats up, am I late for anything?" Leone asked with a large grin plastered on her face
"Did I die?" she asked again clearly not believing the vision in front of her
"Nope, luckily you are still alive."
"I thought you died." Akame said flat our causing Leone to chuckle a bit
"I did, but I clawed my way outta the maw of death, and came back here... yeah... apparently the afterlife isn't all that great after to leave the 'dream' that you're stuck in." Leone explained with a shrug, Akame just stared at her for a few seconds
"Where is father?" Akame asked looking over to Sienna who shrugged
"Who?" Leone asked looking between the two of them
"She means Qrow." Sienna explained crossing her arms
"I am going to make so much fun of him over this." Leone said a smirk growing on her face
"I'm going to assume you're the one that finally managed to capture his heart. I tried that a while back... he broke things off with a note." Sienna commented earning a hum from Leone
"Wanna have a three way?" Leone offered causing Sienna to blink a few times slowly processing the offer
"I... might... take you up on that... top or bottom?" Sienna asked crossing her arms, this was clearly a joke but she would humor her
"Me? Top. He likes to think he's a top though." Leone answered with a smirk as she leaned back on her hands
"Can I not be here for this?" Akames' voice came from beneath her
"Well what about you, you've been here for a while, got someone you're doing the sideways dance with?"
"Please don't call it that." Akame complained rolling over only to wince in pain
"What happened by the way. It's rare that you would end up like this." Leone asked crossing her arms, Akames expression dropped and she stared at the ceiling
"Me and Kurome met up again." she answered causing Leones' smile to vanish
"Oh... I didn't know, I guess she landed a good one on you?"
"Yeah... apparently my arm is going to be weakened from now on... I should probably just get a prosthetic, but I don't know if my body would reject it."
"Yeah, Najenda went through quite the time before you joined up. It was... intense, she was screaming for weeks before we could get a word out of her."
"You were in the revolutionary army before her?"
"Yeah, I was just assigned to kill random lower nobles and scouting missions Najenda was a nice boost to my workload."
"I honestly have no idea whats going on." Sienna commented causing them both to look at her for a few moments
"Don't worry 'bout it." Leone waved off "Anyways, go and tell Qrow that Akame is good. We have quite a bit to talk about... also where do you stand on that three way thing."
"I thought you were joking."
"He broke things off with. a. note. … I wont stand, sit, or lie down with that ending." Leone said crossing her arms "Hell if you want I could kick his ass for you."
"Ha. I don't need help if I wanted that." Sienna said rolling her eyes causing Leone to laugh
"That's not a no."
"Maybe. We'll see what happens." Sienna said walking towards the exit to the tent "But I gotta admit, whenever he's around... I don't know... things seem... brighter... but also, wrong... like something is off." she added earning a shrug from Leone
"Probably just your imagination." she waved off, Sienna seemed to agree as she walked out leaving the two alone
"What did you do with her body?"
"I left it."
"You do know Qrow probably went to gather it. Any... memento you want."
"Her tie badge." Akame answered earning a nod from Leone
"Be right back bestie. Get some rest while were away." Leone confirmed as she walked away
(o)
Ruby stared at the notebook and sighed she had all the choices she could remember she made before meeting Esdeath written in there it but it was hard for her to try and figure out who she was, it was completely insane but she needed to fix this before it was too late. It seemed that everything she was now revolved around this single task, repairing her mind... if it was even broken... she was trying very hard to trust Ozpin on this, all she had to do was keep in line with this version of her and things'll go well
"Will they though?" a voice came from behind her, looking over her shoulder at the faunus she let out a sigh
"Why are you here? I didn't call for you."
"No you didn't. But Master Esdeaths' orders are to ensure that you are stimulated in any and all ways." Anna said with a bow, earning a growl from Ruby
"If I told you to fuck me would you?" Ruby growled, she knew that Anna feared Esdeath more than anything else in this world so that order was a contradiction to her self-preservation but the woman didn't skip a beat as she answered
"I understand that request is a jeer."
"It might be. But you are making me angry instead of stimulated." Ruby growled as she stood and closed the notebook, then grabbed Anna by her ear and yanked her down to eye level "And if you want to prove that you are indeed here to act as my support. Prove it." Ruby ordered with a frown, she needed to make sure of something, and that is something that she is still hiding from Annas' semblance she could feel the woman stumbling through her head, for one reason or another Esdeath chose to send this masochistic...
this was exactly what she was trying to avoid, closing her eyes she released the woman who dropped to her knees and began to apologize profusely
"I'm sorry." Ruby said over her voice causing her to stop apologizing "I'm trying to... fix... myself... but I haven't asked you to help me with this yet... so... can you help me with something?" Ruby asked though it pained her to do so, it was something she would have done before
"Of course, anything." Anna said bowing her head
"Firstly tell me, what is in Oscars head." she ordered, she wanted to know how far she could trust Ozpin
"He is hard to read... and sometimes it is impossible to get anything... like... someone is bloc-" she explained seemingly concentrating extremely hard on something but her attempts were interrupted by her aura flashing green then returning to its normal shade of gray "And that happens sometimes." she added with a groan rubbing her head
"Well... that makes sense. Very well then, thank you for the help... and I wanted to know; can you... bring back a memory for me... it was the third week Akame was living with us. We made steak and eggs for breakfast." Ruby explained as vividly as she could, Anna placed her hand on the side of Rubys head forcing the memory to the surface
(\_/)
setting down the plate of steak on the table Ruby let out a sigh
"Done! How are the eggs Akame?" Ruby asked spinning around and smiling at her, Akame entered the room carrying three plates with eggs on them
"They are done." she answered placing each of them in front of where each person usually sits
"Did you get the number of eggs right? Cuz dad and Yang are pretty picky about how many eggs they get."
"You like to have two, Tai has three, and Yang likes to have between five and seven." Akame said surprising Ruby, she was told that in passing conversation like a week ago
"How do you remember everything?" Ruby asked, Akame had done things like that a lot, things that are casually mentioned she remembered with ease and brought up later always surprising her
"I don't. But I have a way of remembering a most of it. Father taught everyone in the Elite Seven this ability; imagine there is a storeroom in your mind, go in and lock the door behind you, somewhere comfortable, somewhere safe. The faster you think while you're in there the slower time will move outside. Such as if I were to ask you what is four hundred eighty six multiplied by two thousand three hundred twenty two?" Akame asked causing Ruby to quickly begin to think
"The answer is one million one hundred twenty eight thousand four hundred and ninety two." Akame said a few seconds later
"You cheated! You already knew the answer!" Ruby complained earning a nod from Akame
"Ask a question then."
"Two hundred divided by seven?"
"Twenty eight point five, seven, one, four, two, eight, continuing." Akame answered a few seconds after she spoke causing Ruby to blink a few times
"Thirty times eighteen times seven minus eight plus nineteen divided by two!" Ruby asked crossing her arms with a smug look on her face, another few seconds later Akame spoke again
"Three thousand seven hundred eighty one point five." Akame said causing Ruby to blink again "Did you even know that answer?" Akame asked after a few seconds
"No... I did not." Ruby said slouching a little
"I can tutor you if you want. Maths are important." Akame offered causing Ruby to groan and cover her ears
"NO! DONT TAINT WHAT WE HAVE WITH MATH!" Ruby quickly announced causing Akame to raise her eyebrow in confusion, most people in the empire would kill to have such a basic education, some even did... but apparently Ruby knew about division so she had to have some high end mathematical education. But it was still strange how little she appreciated her education
(o)
Releasing Ruby she blinked a few times trying to get used to the afternoon sun
"I heard some of Akames... thought? I think." Ruby said earning a quick nod from Anna
"Yeah, she was nearby so I figured I would use her vision of things too, the more people I can pull from the clearer the image I can create." Anna explained "But sometimes it can get a little... weird. Hence you hearing her thoughts."
"What about her?"
"She'll probably feel the memory come up to the surface too. Nothing to worry about." Anna answered placing her hands behind her back
(o)
Qrow finished wrapping the body and sighed, she was little older than Ruby... and her live was cut so very short
"Hey." A familiar voice came from over his shoulder
"Why do I always hear voices when I wanna be alone?" he asked rubbing his eyes
"Fine I'll come back to you later, but Akame wanted Kuromes' tie badge so..." Leones' voice said as she knelt next to him causing him to jump to his feet and away from her
"Who... are you?" Qrow asked staring at her, her short blond hair was familiar, her yellow eyes dilated and had an animistic look to them they were also familiar to him, as she stood her clothes were easily recognized, he reached out slowly she watched his hand move with a blank look on her face as he pushed her shoulder a bit causing her to lean back a little
"Hello." she greeted as she re-balanced herself and grabbed his hand and slowly lowered it to his side
"Hi... are you really... here?" he asked earning a slow nod from her "So... what do we do now?"
"Well I'm gonna get this to Akame, then I'm gonna go talk with Sienna." she answered then turned towards the direction of camp "You're gonna bury or burn her... then you're going to comfort Akame, she needs it. And once we have a free moment we'll... catch up." Leone explained and began to walk away as Qrow wandered off to gather wood for a pyre
(o)
Hours passed and the sun had fallen behind the horizon, Akame was lying in bed staring at the pendent she was given by Leone, it was a marking that told imperial officials that the person in question was a member of the dark squad and not to interfere with them or their work, Kuromes' assigned squad before the Jaegers
"Kurome." Akame said stabbing the marking into her own tie, struggling a bit to get the mark to stay she let out a growl of frustration and attempted to move her left arm but the surge of pain prevented her from continuing the action
"Here." Qrows voice came as he sat down next to her and grabbed her tie and began to work, letting her arm drop to her side she sighed
"I'm sorry." she apologized watching as his hands moved
"Don't be." He denied "You're hot-headed like me and Raven, I don't know if you get that from me or... your actual parents but I understand that you needed to do that."
"My actual parents sold me and Kurome, for all I care you are my father." she said as he finished sticking the pendent into her tie and straightened it
"What does that make Leone?"
"Mother?"
"I don't think she would appreciate that."
"It's either that or you're in love with your first daughter." Akame answered earning a hum from Qrow before he spoke
"Or my older sister." he added causing Akame to hum
"My coat is falling apart." she said pointing at the coat, true to her word the black leather coat was faded and had dried mud on the tails of the coat, itself was tattered and torn the left sleeve was bloody and falling off
"Do you want me to fix it?" he asked earning a raised eyebrow from her "Yes I know how to work leather, how do you think my boots in such good condition?"
"Boots and coats are two different things." Akame said rubbing her shoulder "And no. but if you can remove the left sleeve I would be grateful. Once our mission is over I might think about replacing it."
"I think you'll need to settle for getting a new one sooner rather than later." he said placing his hand on her injury and began to share his Aura with her with a sigh she placed her hand on his, it felt comforting; his Aura was older more experienced and it felt calming, her wound felt nothing like it normal does, instead of the normal surge of adrenaline she got to fuel her in combat, a wave of calm flowed over her some form of constant relaxation as though no matter what happens or how hurt she gets it didn't matter because she could relax, but for some reason it reminded her of Ruby
"What was that?" she asked after he stopped sharing his Aura with her
"Oh... now that you're accustom to how your Aura feels, when people share their Aura with you you get a... sensation of how their Aura feels when it heals them." he said causing Akame to nod
"Why do you feel... relaxed when you get hurt?"
"Well it always hurts when you take damage... but when it heals me... it's cuz..." Qrow awkwardly began to explain but he didn't know how to tell her that he wanted to die "It... tells me that I'm alive and not to worry about it." he answered causing Akames' eyes to narrow
"Why do you keep lying to me? Why do you keep trying to hide things from me?" Akame questioned causing him to sigh
"Because... because it's information that is... sensitive." he avoided causing her to sigh and placed her hand on his shoulder
"But I am your daughter, I always will be. You don't have to lie to keep me with you." Akame reasoned placing her hand on his
"Look... some things just... later... okay... I'll tell you later, maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, or even next week... but I will tell you... eventually. You have my word." Qrow said moving his hand on top of hers, staring into his eyes she finally relented with a nod
"Okay... the doctor said I should be good to leave tomorrow morning. Where is our next objective?" Akame asked with a sigh before returning to her normal tone
"Mistral is secure." Qrow said leaning back in the chair he was in and crossed his legs "Once we've recuperated we'll get moving towards Argus it's a port city at the north most point of Anima, and one of the few places left that has an Atlas military presence, it should be a cakewalk getting you and RWBY through, but me, Oscar, and the other three... we'll probably be stuck until you all can get someone like James or Esdeath to give us clearance."
"No." Rubys' voice came from the tent entrance "We'll all go through or none of us will." she said her voice was far warmer than it used to be, that gave both of them a second of processing
"But-" Qrow began but was cut off by Ruby who glared at him
"I said no." she growled her voice dropping back into its icy tone, closing her eyes for a few seconds she spoke again "After what I saw in the lamp I'd rather keep everyone together." she said her tone returning to the warm tones that it once held
"What did you see in that thing kid?" Qrow asked looking her over, she seemed a little pale and tired
"Nightmare fuel... or a vivid dream... sometimes both, it depends on my mood... and it is... taxing." she answered as she turned to leave "I was going to gather the others and head back to the house... feel free to tag along." Ruby said she then turned and walked out, looking over Akame he raised an eyebrow waiting for her answer
"I would like to leave this place soon." Akame said earning a nod from Qrow
"While that's nice, me and Qrow'll catch up with you all." Leone said from the entrance of the tent "We have a few things... to discuss." she added staring at the back of his head
"I feel like I'm not gonna like this." he commented as he helped Akame stand and guided her out of the tent after informing the doctor that she would be leaving tonight instead of tomorrow
"So... what's up?" he asked as Leone cocked her arm back and slammed it into his jaw sending him to the ground "You broke up with Sienna with a note! I thought you were a man!"
Rolling his jaw, he sat up and groaned "I..." he sighed and spoke again "What do you want from me? I know it was a dick move, I regretted it as soon as I left but I already made my choice, if I could take it back I would. What do you want me to do? Apologize?" he said causing Leone to cross her arms
"Nah, but you will be making it up to her... after we get reacquainted." Leone said with a cold smile on her face
"In the Esdeath way? Or the fun way?"
"Who knows. It's up to her. But our reacquainting will be very fun... as long as you behave." she added with a still cold grin, Qrow just sighed, this was gonna be a long few days...
A/N and they are back together, took them long enough. There was no massive fanfare or anything like that, mainly because I didn't want to increase the focus on them when the whole event would change the tone of the chapter, the aftermath of the battle between Kurome and Akame is the focus and Ruby trying to piece together her mind is the other focus, Qrow and Leone getting back together is the B plot.
Sorry for the late upload, I work the over-night shift so my nights are split between two days, it's all very confusing.