(Kiseki)
"You mentioned that Malik is willing to share some interesting information with us?" The Night Raid leader, the former General Najenda, recalled while leaning forward, listening carefully.
I chuckled with a nod. "I did indeed. It appers that an escaped madman is running around the Capital and executing all who come across his path. Currently, my boss is planning on conducting a distict-by-district manhunt with a number of Imperial Guard garrisons tonight. This madman is also in possession of Omnipotent Five Sights: Spector, which is exactly why he's requesting Night Raid's help from the shadows. He knows that it doesn't matter how many soldiers go after him, they'd only be lambs to the slaughter. That's why he needs Night Raid to help take the sick bastard down." I explained, my gaze never leaving Najenda's lavender eyes as she inhaled in her cigarette.
The pink haired girl, the one who possessed Roman Artillery: Pumpkin, developed a rather...interesting expression. "If we do help Malik and we happen to encounter him, will he attack us?" There was a mix of concern, worry, anxiety, and apprehension in her facial features and words.
Stiffling a smirk I glanced at the young girl, only a year younger than me. "There is no doubt in my mind that he will attack Night Raid on sight. Boss said it himself, you guys are enemies now, members of the opposite side of the battlefield. Sorry to burst your bubble, kid. Just stay out of his and his forces' way, and you should be fine."
The pink haired girl- Mine, Boss called her, drew a shaking breath and despair overtook her expression. Poor girl, to fall so hard for someone on the opposing side. Life is cruel, it seems.
"My word of advice, while Boss will certainly attack you guys on sight, he won't aim to kill. Avoid the boss at all cost and above everything else, stay the hell away from his older sister, Seryu Ubiquitious. The girl's batshit insane and is obssessed with justice and fighting evil. She's powerful too, possessing the living Teigu, Hekatonkeiru." I put in my two cents, should they choose to help the Boss.
"If you're not with the Empire, then what will you be doing while this manhunt is happening?" Najenda inquired, her eyes studied me carefully.
"That...is none of Night Raid's concern. Still, the boss wants to get his hands on Spector before it's conficated by your people or the Empire. The boss has been collecting Teigu lately, studying them and trying to figure out what makes them tick. Let us have Spector, and the boss and his guardsmen might turn a blind eye to your activities for a while." I proposed, then turned towards the door.
"Now then, I bid thee adieu, Night Raid. I'll leave you all to your thoughts." I said with a smile of amusement, walking out of the door.
Such an interesting bunch. It's a shame that they're considered our enemies.
-xXx-
(Mine)
(Night)
This was it.
Soon after that strange girl, who is apperantly a subordinate of Malik, Kiseki left, the Boss and the rest of Night Raid all voted on whether or not we should help Malik out. The results spoke for themselves.
Bulat, Leone, Sheele, and of course, yours truly, all voted that we should help him out.
Akame and Lubbock were the only two to oppose helping him.
"Mine," the quiet voice shook my out of my daze. I turned to my left as Akame's blood red eyes looked at me, lacking expression. "why do you value him so highly?" She asked as the two of us moved from shadow to shadow, staying out of sight from the patrolling Guardsmen, Malik's men.
"I can guess you're going say the same thing that Lub said. That he's shady, that he's the enemy." I said with a sigh, the two of us ducking into a shadowy niche as a squadron of guards ran past us. "But honestly, I could care less about that. I still see good in him, and I always will. We all know his situation, especially since we're the kind of people that we are, good people must do bad things for the greater good. Malik and Night Raid both fight for the same thing, to end the corruption." I adamantly defended him, but I then realized that I didn't actually answer Akame's question.
"Still, no matter what way you look at it, I guess that-" Something caught my eye, a shadow of someone I recognize dart across the street. His shadow. Swallowing hard, I rise. I have to see him, to talk to him, to hear his voice again. "I'll be back, Akame." I said to my raven haired partner, prompting a questioning look as I ran after the shadow.
Soon, the shadow stopped running and faced me down across the alley. Seeing his face again caused my lips to curl in a wide smile and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. He's just as handsome as we last met.
"Malik..." I simply said as I ran towards my close friend...
Wait...something doesn't seem right. Why hasn't he said anything yet? Malik always has a reason for his actions and this feels like he's luring me away from Akame...he wouldn't do that. He'd be out there hunting for Zanku. Which means...
I skidded to a halt, upholstering Pumpkin and aiming it at 'Malik'.
"You're not him." I flatly stated, my moment of bliss decaying to disappointment and loathing as my rifle glowed. How dare they try to trick me using his face. "Who are you?" I said, gritting my teeth in anger.
"You're a clever girl." The fake Malik said, a sinister grin creeping along his face, distorting that once beautiful appearance into something ugly. "Whoever I showed you must mean something special to you. To change expressions that quickly is quite the feat." In the blink of an eye, stood a towering man in a white trench coat with a bloodthirsty grin. On his head, he wore a silver circlet with a large green gem that resembled an eye. "As for who I am, just call me your friendly neighborhood executioner, Zanku the Decapitator." Two blades popped out from his wrists from under his sleeves as he grinned wickedly.
Shit! So this guy's Zanku! Then that means...
"I'll just try to gain some distance and fire several rounds at him." The man recited my exact thoughts with a smug smile as he closed the distance between us, his blades raised.
I fired Pumpkin at him as Zanku charged at me. "I'll dodge to the left and try to get around him." He recited again, foiling my improvised plan. Sneering at him, I decided to risk it, running at him and then dropped to a slide as he approached. Sliding under his legs and reaching more open ground, I then immediately fired at his turned back.
Zanku simply stepped to the side as the rounds flew past his body and he turned around to me, still wearing that sick grin. "You're a rather hardcore chick, you know that? It makes me want to slice your head off more and more." He said, licking his lips in a repulsive manner, sending shivers down my spine. "Maybe when I lop off your head, I'll show it to that guy you saw earlier, then I'll lop off his head too." He said laughing, grinding his two blades together, sending sparks flying as he approached me.
"That Teigu of yours is annoying." I said, still sneering at him.
"Maybe if I can just hold out until my partner or someone else arrives, the maybe I have a chance." Zanku read my thoughts, mocking my desperation, laughing cruely as he kept grinding his blades.
Instead of panicking, like he expected, I stood my ground.
"It seems I have my back against the wall, and that there's no way of escaping this. In other words, I couldn't be in a worse situation." I stated, my sneer suddenly changing into a confident grin as I faced the madman, catching him off guard.
"What are you-!?" He started just I pulled the trigger of Pumpkin. Zanku's eyes widening.
"BOOOM!" The large beam beam fired out of Pumpkin and right at the executioner, as he held up his blades to defend. The beam engulfed Zanku and send him crashing into a building.
Damn, he still isn't dead, and Pumpkin's getting close to overheating from that shot.
From the dust cloud, Zanku rocketed towards me, his blades pointed at me. I held up my rifle to block, but his second blade came down and sliced my side, drawing blood. Wincing, I lowered my guard from the pain and the other blade came flying towards my neck.
Now I really was in a pinch...
Suddenly, a black shadowy mass swung from the side, launching Zanku away from me.
"Look look! I found the villain, Onii-chan!" A girl's voice chirped happily from the rooftops. "And just it time too! He would have killed that bystander if you hadn't stepped in!."
Wha-?
"What do you mean you found the villain, Aneki? I thought Warriors of Justice didn't take all the credit from other fellow Warriors of Justice." A second voice retorted in annoyance.
I gasped at the sound of the second voice.
Could it be?!
"It doesn't matter anyways, Little Bro. As Warriors of Justice, it's our duty to dispose of filth like this villain. Isn't that right, Koro?" The cheerful voice suddenly started oozing eager malice and cruelty. I heard a little yip as what I assumed was Koro replied.
Looking up towards the rooftops, I saw them. I easily recognized Malik, the real Malik, despite being in the armored uniform of a Colonel of the Imperial Guard, his rank on the lapels of his black coat.
Next to him, was a slightly tall and slender woman with long auburn hair that went past her back, and almost touch the ground. She had contracted light amber eyes the looked like pin points and a sinister grin as she looked at the scene below. She took out two tonfa blades as she and Malik lept down to the ground. Beside her, was a white creature that somewhat resembled a dog, eagerly waited orders, eying where Zanku landed.
"Brother, I'll keep the villain occupied while you get the civilian out of harm's way." The woman lapsed out of her crazed state as she turned towards me.
"The girl's a pretty good shot, Seryu. Perhaps she could aid us in our righteous battle by providing covering fire for a distance after I patch her up." Malik replied, winking at me, causing my heart to flutter.
Wait, he called her Seryu. Then is that the one who Kiseki warned us about, Malik's older sister? She does mention justice a lot, yet so does Malik, it seems.
"Hmm, your rife fires the Light of Justice, from what I saw. And Onii-chan is usually right about potential Warriors of Justice. I'll allow it! Shine the Light of Justice and help us vanquish this villain's evil ways!" Seryu said, beaming widely at me as Malik scooped me up in his arms with gentlemanly care, causing me to blush furiously as he carried me up the rooftops.
-xXx-
"In other words, she's taken a liking to you. I would highly advise against letting her find out that you're with Night Raid, Mine." Malik chuckled as he carefully laid me down on a distant rooftop overlooking the plaza where Seryu and Zanku battled.
"Wait, didn't you say that you and Night Raid would be enemies from now on?" I wondered aloud as he reached into the shadows next to him and pulled out a medical kit from God knows where.
"Pull your dress up, Mine." Malik bluntly said as he opened the medical kit, causing my face to invent a new shade of red as my mind to go a hundred miles a minute and my heart to beat at a thousand.
W-w-w-what?! D-did he actually say what I think he said?! Is he actually h-hitting one me?! In the middle of battle?! Was he always this bold?!
Still...I guess it'd be okay if it's Malik. Yeah, there's no doubt about it, it'd be okay only if it's Malik.
...Only if it's Malik, and Malik alone.
Finding my resolve, I blush even darker, and reach for the edge of my dress and nervously grip the pink fabric. "B-be gentle.." I murmur softly.
I'm showing my body to a boy...- no, I'm showing my body to the man I've been in love with for four years, to Malik...
As Malik finally realized what I've been going on about, it was his turn to blush. He's so cute...
"M-Mine! That's not what I meant by pulling your dress up! I need to dress that gash on your side!" He exclaimed, still blushing at my misunderstanding.
"That's it?! That's the reason?!" I replied, embarrassed. Feeling humiliated, I balled my fist and punched him in the jaw. "Y-you jerk!" I turned away from him, the two of us still blushing.
I heard him mutter something along the lines of "This girl is going to be the death of me" as Malik rubbed his sore jaw. Sighing, I didn't loosen the grip of my dress as I kept avoiding eye contact with him.
"J-just get it over with it. Y-you gotta back up Seryu, right?" I managed out, still blushing brightly.
Malik gulped and nodded pulling out antibiotics and gauze wrap. "Y-yeah, that's true. W-we should hurry before you loose too much blood." He said quckly, turning away as I hesitantly lift up my dress.
It was in this moment, I realized that despite the hardships, or all the things he's done, behind that hardened demeanor of an Imperial Colonel, Malik Dekras, the 'Black Hand' was still just a teenager.
-xXx-
A/N: Hey guys, so here I am with yet another chapter.
To be honest, I didn't intend on this chapter to be this long, and the scene with Malik and Mine just kinda...happened.
But what the hell, most of the chapter are improvised anyways, so I like it as long as you all like it.
It was also a bit difficult to write the fight between Mine and Zanku, since Mine never was involved with the battle in canon.
On another note, here's to over 1500 views!
Thanks so much for your support, everyone.
And as always, thanks for reading. See you all next chapter.
Kit out