Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill nor Death Note.

River and Nyau expected their leader to return with Daidara. I mean, who wouldn't? However, finding a white-haired boy with her and Daidara was something they would never think of.
He looked weak. And they both knew she didn't like the weak.

"Lady Esdeath, who is the young boy with you?" Liver asked.

She looked over at Near. "Oh, he? This is Near. He will be joining us from now on."

Nyau almost fell over from shock. "Hold on...WHAT?!"

"General, are you sure about this? He doesn't look like he can fight." He didn't doubt the General's choices, but a child? She must have an explanation for this. His leader was not stupid.

"Yes, he's not one for fighting. But, he uses his head, better than some of the older Imperial Soldiers. He is still young and full of potential. Just imagine how of an asset he will be to the Empire after a few years. I will give him his first assignment when we return to the Capital. And if he really succeeds, I'm certain of my answer."

"O-oh, I s-see," Liver mumbled. "But more importantly, what happened to you, Daidara?"

The brown-haired man had an arm on Esdeath's shoulders, using her for support. His legs looked weak, bandages were wrapped on his arm with blood staining them, but not too much, and there were scratches marking his body. One of his arms was on his stomach, encased in a thin layer of ice. It pretty much looked like a casket.

"Oh, I fell off the cliff. It wasn't a big fall." Daidara grinned. "Besides, my little buddy really helped my, so I should be fine!"

They both looked at Near with questioning looks, knowing there was no way in hell he would call Esdeath 'his little buddy.'

He shrugged, "the General would've found you, anyway. There were no Danger Beasts around and with the scratches on your body, you wouldn't lose too much blood. It was timing really. And as for the nickname, I don't know where that came from either."

The blonde of the group raised an eyebrow. "You really don't want to sugarcoat in front of Lady Edseath."

He once again, shrugged. "I don't see a reason to. She would be certain of her answer if I manage to succeed the assignment. It would simply be a waste of breath and time. I would rather show it with my actions than words. Words are simple words. You can lie about anything."

A small smile crossed Liver's features. 'He seems more mature than Daidara and Nyau combined together!' He thought with hope. 'Maybe he can stop their fighting!'

Esdeath, who was enjoying the show, decided it was time to leave. "Let's get a move on. The horses shouldn't be far from here. If we move now, we'll probably reach the Capital at noon and I still need to report to the Emperor."

They were walking to the horses with the oldest three ahead and the youngest two behind.

"Lady Esdeath, I can carry Daidara." He offered to his leader out of respect.

Esdeath agreed. While she had no problem supporting Daidara because of her Teigu's enhanced strength, she was curious at the conversation the two males were having. And knowing Liver, he would do anything to help the Empire's Strongest. Even if she didn't need it. So, while Daidara and Liver were chatting about Liver's 'great' cooking skills, she concentrated her attention on the younger ones' conversation.

"Look, don't act all high and mighty just because our General took an interest in you." The blonde one spoke up.

"I wonder where that came from? Are you jealous?"

"What?! Why would I be jealous because of you?!"

"The General took an interest in me, you said so yourself."

"Tch, just because you know some big words at a young age doesn't mean I can't beat you!"

"Beat me?" Near chuckled.

"What?" Nyau raised an eyebrow. "Or do you want to say that you're stronger than me?"

"No that's not it," he looked
Nyau straight in the eyes. "You can't come up with a solid argument, that's why you want to resort to violence. You're predictable."

"Wha-"

"It's what humans do," he interrupted him. "Simply said, when you can't come up with a good argument, you want to use voilence. It usually happens when you're against someone weaker than you or if you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of a crowd. I've witnessed that a lot of times."

"I-I...uhhhh..."

"How old are you?"

"Huh?"

"How old are you?" He repeated himself.

"What? Are you going to make fun of my height?"

"No, that would be a stupid point. Now, answer honestly."

"You first."

"Fine, I'm 13. How about you?"

"I'm 13, too."

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"What?! How did you know?!"

"You just told me."

"..."

"I'M SO STUPID!" Nyau yelled at the top of his lungs to the sky.

"That happens when you get too much into the flow of the conversation. And you said that I was going to make fun of your height. Since I am slightly taller, you had to be older than me."

"You put too much thought into things..."

"Maybe, but because of that, who do you think won the 'argument?'"

"Uhhh," Nyau was at a loss of words. He basically got destroyed. But he wouldn't admit that. His pride was on the line, after all.

"W-well... Just...shut up, shorty!"

"You do realize I'm taller than you. But of course, you wouldn't admit it because your pride got in the way. If you can't admit it or have nothing logical to say, I think it's better you stay silent. You're only making a fool out of yourself."

"Why do you have to be such a smartass?!"

"Daidara," Near started, completely ignoring his previous remark. The pupilless man looked over his shoulder at him. "How old is Nyau?"

Sometimes he and his older companion got into fights. And this was the perfect opportunity for Daidara to get revenge. Fear was present on the blonde's face. Daidara couldn't help but grin at Nyau's expression. 'No...he wouldn't!'

"Early 20s."

"DAMN YOU!"

"It's honestly really sad."

He returned his attention to Near. "What is?"

"There's an age gap of atleast 8 years and yet, I'm acting more mature than you. How does it feel? Being taught a lesson by...basically a teen?"

"W-well...uhhhh." Nyau sighed and finally gave up. "Atleast no one heard this," he mumbled.

"Actually, they did. You were too loud."

Just then, Daidara's roaring laughter could be heard. "HAHAHAHA! HOW DOES IT- HAHAHA! FE-FEEL?! AHAHAHA! YOU JUST GOT OWNED! HAHAHAHA! IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME IF YOU GOT EXPERIENCE FOR THAT, NEAR! HAHAHA!"

Poor Liver beside him wanted to cover his ears. But unfortunately, he had to support the laughing mess. "Just when I thought it would get better..." Liver sighed. 'For Esdeath's sake, please have mercy on me!'

The horses finally game in Nyau's line of sight. He glared at Near and noticed the smirk on his face before running towards the horses. "God! I HATE you two! And wipe that damn smirk off your face!"

"Lady Esdeath," she turned her gaze to Liver. "I think it would be better if Near became a politician, right now. Not even the oldest or wisest people would dare go against him."

Esdeath chuckled, "maybe. But it certainly got more amusing." She enjoyed the time with her Three Beasts. But it got so much more livelier with Near. Which, was rather surprising with his calm demeanor.

This time Daidara spoke up, finally recovered from his laughing fit. "It wouldn't surprise me if he would have a debate against Great General Budo and win!"

Just then, Near popped up behind them. "I don't think the Great General would like it if that happened. He wants to keep his high status."

"But think about it," Daidara grinned. "Wouldn't it be hilarious! A mere child getting the Great General at a loss for words!"

"I hope you don't get any ideas. Still, I technically am a child. But I don't exactly have the mentality of one, like Nyau does."

"KEEP ME OUT OF THE CONVERSATION!"

Just then, Daidara grabbed Near by his arm and started dragging him towards the horses. "Come on, Near. You will ride with me."

"You could walk on your own?!" River called out to him. He already knew the answer, but dragging the giant for nothing was something he wanted to deny.

"Oh yeah! When you started helping me, I could pretty much walk on my own. But, I know how helpful you want to be. So I thought, why not? You should be thanking me! You've probably got some experience for that!"

Liver rubbed his temples, "I'm already getting a migraine."

"Maybe your cooking will silence them," Esdeath suggested.

"Was it that bad, General?"

"Do you remember what happened to me last time?"

"..."

"I thought so."

"Can you ride with one hand, Daidara?" Near asked.

Daidara grinned at him, "I can try. I'm sure we can make it out alive.

Near sighed and climbed up the horse. "That's not really reassuring."

Daidara somehow hopped onto the horse with one hand, probably because of his height. Near hoped the horse could carry both of them to the Capital, and not collapse from exhaustion halfway through.

Lastly, River and Esdeath got onto their horses and they started their journey to the Capital.

On the way, Near wrapped his arms around the horse's neck. It was his first time on a horse and Daidara using one hand didn't really help him in the situation.

"Ah, how cute. Mr. Smartass is holding for dear life." Nyau's horse was galloping beside them while Esdeath and River were ahead of them. From what Near heard, they were discussing some kind of punishment.

If he spoke, it would only escalate further, resulting in another argument. So, he decided to ignore him and start a conversation with his current travel mate.

"Hey Daidara. How did you began working for the Empire?" This offended Nyau. But he decided to let it slide, for now.

"Oh that," he couldn't help but grin at the memory. "I was travelling around the Empire, practicing Martial Arts and fighting strong opponents. One day I encountered Lady Esdeath. She beat me with hand-to-hand combat. I was impressed by her power and thus, became her servant. And well, this is where I am now."

"I see," Near muttered. "What do you think of the current Empire?"

"The current Empire? Beats me, I'm only following orders and interested in becoming stronger. I've actually never thought about that. Why do you ask?"

"I was curious as to what was happening in the Empire. I've heard of a Revolution in the Empire. So, I was curious at what your thoughts were on the subject. After all, you're someone who's working for the Empire."

Daidara slapped him on the back, "but you will soon see for yourself! I know you will com- huh? Near? Everything all right?" Daidara asked, noticing Near's pained look. His arms around the horse tightened, he gritted his teeth and his eyes were shut tightly.

"Near?" While he didn't know him for a while, he was getting genuinely worried for him. Who else could diss Nyau if he wasn't around? Or could make him laugh his ass off?

Near's eyes widened, noticing he messed up. His emotionless look quickly returned, "oh, nothing."

"Come on you can tell me. You're my little buddy, after all."

"Really Daidara, it was nothing. Just forget it happened."

Before he could reply Liver's voice stopped him. "We arrived at the Capital!"

And sure enough, when Near looked ahead, he saw the massive gate leading into the Capital. "So...this is the Captital?" Near mumbled.

Daidara grinned, "this is nothing. Wait 'till you see the palace. It's freaking huge."

The guards at the gate stepped aside when they caught sight of the Empire's Strongest. While they were passing through it, Near noticed that the guards were bowing nervously. That was a strange sight to see. A soldier wouldn't be so nervous when they were simply bowing to a General.

Near knew Esdeath was the Stronget warrior in the Empire. It was obvious some people would be scared of her. However, that job also comes with respect. Something those two clearly hadn't. It was strange to see that the Empire's own guards were so terrified of her. She must have quite the reputation.

Near wasn't from the Capital. So, he didn't really know what she did over the years.

When they entered the Capital, the people around them immediately made room for them to pass. They became the center of attention, Esdeath the most actually. The white-haired boy saw mixed reactions. Some were scared, glared at her and a few of them coninued with their business.

However, there was one thing that bugged Near the most. Yes, people were also cheering for her. But most of them were the more wealthy ones, judging by their clothing, guards and jewelry. All of the wealthy ones he saw were cheering for her. Not a single one was doing something else.

Near looked at Esdeath. She was sitting straight on her horse, looking ahead of her the entire time. All of the eyes on her didn't really bother the Empire's Strongest.

He couldn't see it, but she had a small smirk the entire time. Mostly because of all the killing intent directed towards her. Revolutionaries, she had no doubt about it. It wasn't something to be scared of. They were small amounts of killing intent from multiple people. She could easily wipe all of them out with one simple swipe of her hand.

"What's that white-haired kid doing there?"

"I already feel sorry for him."

"White hair? He somehow seems familiar."

"He looks weak."

"Why would he be with the General and her Three Beasts?"

"Maybe he is a criminal?!"

Near heard all of it. They were either trying whisper, but failed horribly, or were not even bothering to. Esdeath and the Three Beasts didn't seem to mind it. And if they did, they couldn't go around killing people for something like that.

While observing the people around him, Near failed to notice the palace getting closer.

"Hey Near," Daidara nudged him and when he gained his attention he pointed at the palace. "Have you seen anything like that before?"

Near stared at it with awe. It made him wonder how long it took to build it. However, he noticed that it had a really
luxirous build. That wouldn't be strange. But compared to the buildings he had seen so far, maybe this was a little too much.

When they arrived at the gate, two guards came and took the horses away.

"It's good to see you back safely, General." The two guards stationed at the palace's gate said and bowed. They looked a bit cocky to Near. In return, she gave a small nod and walked into the massive place, with the other four following behind.

"Daidara, Nyau, Liver you three are dismissed. Near, you will come with me to report. The Prime Minister might be interested in this."

Near raised an eyebrow. Prime Minister? Wasn't she going to report to the Emperor? Then again, the Prime Minister gave advice to the Emperor, so he decided not to question it.

"Yes ma'am." With that, all three of them left.

The white-haired boy followed Esdeath through the endless halls. For most people it might take some time, but he easily memorized the layout. That might come in handy later.

'I hope you won't cause any trouble with the Prime Minister, Near.' Esdeath thought while glancing over her shoulder at him, seeing his analyzing eyes observe the halls around him. 'You may be young, but you are extremely intelligent. I can see it in your eyes, you're not one to be easily fooled. You have a lot of potential in you. However, it will simply be wasted if you get in his way.'

A/N:

Didn't expect to post another chaper today. I got encouraged to write more thanks to Insanity Ignited's review (I really appreciate it). Now I know someone actually likes my story. Anyways, feedback and criticism are always appreciated!