Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of The Lioness and the Wolf. Enjoy the 2500-Word chapter. I don't own AGK, Takahiro, Square Enix and a few others do.

(Unknown Location)

Jace had sent Lionel to his friend to be fixed. He knew the man wouldn't take it, Jace could easily track him down and force him to unhand it.

He decided to spar with Leone and brush up on his skills. What he was surprised at was that Leone seemed to retain her beast-like state. Jace had no clue if it was a more enhanced form of her Tengu. Like a second trump card.

"Anyway… Let's do this." Jace stated as he dropped his coat to the ground. He also kicked off his gloves and boots. Leone giggled as Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Don't mind me, continue with the show." Leone purred out as Jace rolled his eyes and activated his Tengu.

Leone watched as his nails slowly extended, sharpening like knives as they grew into claws. His teeth pushed forward as his four main teeth became fang-like and razor-thin.

The same came from his feet as an ice-like blast of energy harrowed this transformation. Fur covered his legs and chest, blue and wild like a wolf. His eyes became more rounded and feral as he looked at her.

"Lupusnal disagrees with clothing… Kind of the only downside to being faster, stronger, and having the ability to drain the lifeforce from people these claws hit." Jace stated, he looked up at Leone.

It took Jace a moment to realize Leone was taller than him. He was 5'4 or so last time he checked, Leone had to be 6'0 or so.

"Yeah… Well, let's play!" Leone said as she launched herself at Jace. He barely had time to backflip away from the hit which splintered stone. Jace blinked at the debris of Leone's clawed foot.

"Oh… Crap." Jace said before throwing a punch which knocked Leone back about 5 feet. Jace questioned if this form weakened Leone as she claimed or not.

"So Lupusnal is a family Tengu?" Leone asked as Jace launched into a kick that she battered aside. It was clear Jace had a slight edge in speed, but Leone had far more strength than he could muster. "You said it belonged to your dad." Leone pointed out before taking a swipe with her left hand.

Jace backpedaled and blinked before humming.

"Dad got it from an Imperial Officer he killed," Jace said as Leone aimed a crane kick at him. He barely managed to stop her foot before pushing the former Night Raid member back. "I guess you could call it a 'family heirloom.'" Jace added as he threw a punch that Leone caught.

"It's pretty similar to Lionel." Leone said before flicking Jace backward. Jace stumbled backward before digging in his claws. "He, he, sorry. Najenda used to tell me I need to hold back more." Leone stated before rushing Jace.

Jace managed to leap to his feet before Leone barreled into him. Jace dug in his heels and managed to slow the charge of the hulking brawler.

Leone towered over the smaller warrior. Jace's hands weren't even the size of her beast-like paws. Jace looked at Leone.

"Well, you're strong for such a small fry." Leone said with a smile as she pushed against Jace. He managed to leap up and kick off Leone's stomach. "Hmm, nice one." Leone said as she brushed off her skin.

"You're honestly scaring me," Jace said as he blushed before straightening up. "Besides Lupusnal isn't meant to make me into some drugged-up super soldier… Dad used it to rip through crowds of people before they could react." Jace said while dusting off his clothes.

"Well, Lionel is going crazy over it." Leone said before sniffing at the air. Jace couldn't deny his nerves felt like they were on fire around Leone, his Tengu magnified his senses. "It is messing with your gear too?" Leone asked as Jace crouched.

"Yes…" Jace said before cracking his neck as he lunged forward. He tried to pounce on Leone, claws extended.

Leone only stepped to the side, reaching out with a single hand and grabbing Jace by the scruff of his neck.

Leone smiled at Jace who rolled his eyes with annoyance and hummed. Jace knew for a fact that he couldn't outmatch Leone in strength. Leone was far too strong for him to overpower them.

"You're enjoying this way too much, aren't you?" Jace questioned Leone who hummed and rolled her eyes as well. Jace knew for a fact that Leone was barely trying to fight him. "Can you please put me down?" Jace asked Leone who hummed.

"Hey, you're the one trying to train with me." Leone stated to Jace who glared at the former Night Raid member.

"Ok, you're screwing with me," Jace said before Leone dropped to her knees. Jace tried to scramble out of her arms as the hulking member of Night Raid cradled him in her arms.

"Why were you so sad yesterday that you asked me to spar with you like this?" Leone asked as Jace blinked and looked to the side.

Leone looked at him the same way a mother cat would look at its kittens. Aace sighed before Leone continued.

"You're a Resistance soldier, aren't you?" Leone questioned before Jace hummed and nodded. "Then you still have combat training. You don't need that much training, meaning you're blowing off steam." Leone pointed out as Jace sighed.

"Do you always read people while you're trying to fight them?" Jace questioned Leone who shrugged as Jace sighed and adjusted himself, so he wasn't cradled in her arms.

"It comes with being an assassin." Leone stated before Jace hummed and sighed. "Spill, I can mess with you so bad you never stop blushing. If we're going to be partners? You're going to have to tell me who the hell this guy is." Leone said before Jace looked at her.

Jace looked away and mumbled something. Leone heard it, Jace knew she did.

But Leone was intent on making sure Jace knew they would trust each other. That meant spitting things out rather than trying to feebly hide them.

Leone crushed Jace to her chest. His head was pressed to the space between her breasts.

"Spill." Leone said, nipping at his ear which did nothing but drive Lupusnal crazy and cause Jace to bite his lip to stifle a moan. "Now." Leone hissed as she hovered her teeth over one of his wolves like ears.

"His name is Matias!" Jace finally yelled before looking at Leone. She waited for him to continue. Her lips rested against the fuzz of his ear. "He's been hunting for my father ever since my father beat him for killing my uncle," Jace added as Leone paused.

"He killed your uncle?" Leone questioned while Jace hummed and nodded. "Why?" Leone asked, still keeping her arms wrapped around Jace.

"Because my uncle decided to stop paying protection money to Matias," Jace said, he wouldn't allow Leone to see his expression. He buried his head into Leone's stomach. "Matias joined the empire. We found out he was part of the Empire his forces attacked our camp. Matias took Honest's offer to become part of the guard for the position of commander for the guardian forces. He'd never stop hunting us till he found us." Jace stated while looking at Leone hum.

"And let me guess… The piece of crap didn't even fight fair when he found your old man?" Leone questioned as Aace raised an eyebrow, letting her know she hit a nerve. "Matias isn't someone who came up on the list of targets the boss wanted to be killed. He must be a pretty damn small fish." Leone added in before letting go of Jace.

The resistance soldier didn't move. He didn't feel like moving anymore. Leone needed some reason to want to hunt down Matias besides Jace's reason.

"If by 'small', you mean bottom of the food chain?" Jace questioned, using Leone's arms to push himself up to a sitting position on Leone's legs… Or lap, he didn't care at the moment. "Yeah, the coward knew Night Raid would kick his ass in a straight-up fight. Matias likes to act like he's a lot bigger than he is. But now that Night Raid is more or less gone, and he thinks you're dead?" Jace asked to which Leone frowned and allowed Jace to lean on her.

"He's making a move while the empire is still vulnerable, and nobody is around to fight him." Leone said as Jace hummed and nodded. "Piece of scum is going to go after the boss, no doubt." Leone said only for Jace to shake his head at this.

"Matias is a lot of things, but he's not stupid. He won't go after Najenda because that will bring the entire damn empire down on his head." Jace said before cracking his neck. "He wanted to carve out his little kingdom. I found notes while I was digging through one of his camps a few weeks ago." Jace said and closed his eyes. He took a breath and continued.

"Matias is busy looking for allies to try and form his little empire with himself at the top. I doubt he'd want anything to do with the empire after it's clear everyone who worked for Honest is headed for death row." Jace stated to Leone.

"So why did you pick me?" Leone asked as Jace looked at her.

"One, you're the best hunter in Night Raid and the Rebellion," Jace stated to Leone. "Two and Three? You're the only one that wasn't retired or dead as it was. I heard Akame lost her Tengu, Mine, and Tatsumi… You know." Jace said and got a nod in response.

"You're the only one left in Night Raid who seemed like a good option. I used whatever money I could scrounge up to find you. I got some medicine from the doctor and found you dying in the garbage." Jace put in while he sighed to Leone who said nothing. "I brought you back after giving you enough painkillers to tranquilize a danger beast. I don't think Lionelle is as dead as you seem to think it is. You woke up less than 2 hours after I gave you medicine. I used my Tengu's trump card…" Jace started to say before Leone cut him off.

"To bring me back." Leone said as she finally rose to her feet. "And now you want me to kill one last bad guy." Leone stated as Jace hummed.

"You lived in the gutters as I used to, right?" Jace asked before brushing off his jacket. "Then I want to make sure this piece of crap NEVER gets to hurt anyone else. I've grieved my dad long enough. I'm going after Matias to make damned sure he suffers for all the other crap he's done. Do you want to think it's entirely personal? Do it. I'm going after Matias to make sure he doesn't kill anyone else. He's going to pay for what he's done sooner or later. I intend that to be sooner." Jace said before getting up and checking his Tengu.

"And if you die doing this?" Leone asked, she could guess how Jace felt at the moment. She still had the enhanced traits of her Tengu. She could hear his heartbeat, smell the sweat, both from the fight and being driven to the edge by her. And she saw his pupils open and close.

"If I die? I die." Jace said while letting out a sigh. "This is the only mission I wanted to get done. I fought in the rebellion to honor my father and fulfill his dream. I'm not going to let someone get away with their deeds like this." Jace said as Leone nodded.

She saw the determination, the need to see this mission through to the end. It was similar to the fire she usually saw from her comrades.

Almost all of Night Raid suffered. Najenda had less than a year or so to live. Mine lost her Tengu, Tatsumi had bonded with his. The last Leone knew of Akame? She was poisoned by her Tengu and forced to leave the empire for multiple reasons.

"Uh. Leone?" Jace asked Leone as the blonde brawler snapped out of her stupor. She looked at Jace before he put his hands on his hips.

"As much as I hate to say it?" Jace asked and looked to the side. "Thank you for getting my mind on track," Jace said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, you weren't going to be able to focus if you didn't start spilling it." Leone said before smirking slightly. "But you should remember I did mark you like I did Tatsumi… And unlike him, I'm guessing you didn't exactly hook up with someone during the war?" Leone purred out as Jace looked away.

It didn't stop her from seeing the blush. Leone slowly advanced on the smaller fighter, like a cat cornering its prey. Her smirk slowly grew, her eyes narrowed as the behavior of her Tengu seeped into her blood.

"Leone…." Jace said and slowly began to back up. Jace didn't like the smug look on her face that just DARED him to try and run.

"Lupusnal is messing with Lionelle you know." Leone stated as she continued to advance on Jace who only backed up more. "Don't expect me to stop messing with you during this hunt. Jace, I already marked you as mine." Leone said, enjoying teasing Jace who only hummed as he looked to the side, unsure what to say.

"You're going to flirt with me the entire time?" Jace asked as Leone hummed. "Ok, I'm going to go inside and try and track down Matias." Jace awkwardly said before turning off his Tengu and opening the door.

Leone watched and giggled to herself. She was going to have SO much fun getting Jace flustered.

But she still felt weird around him due to their Tengu. It wasn't just playful flirting just for the hell of teasing Jace. Jace also seemed very different during the last part of their battle.

Leone hummed, it seemed both of them would find out what was messing with their Tengu on this mission.

Leone knew this transformation seemed to be either permanent or a second trump card for her Tengu. Leone walked inside while Jace hummed and sat on the busted couch.

Author Notes

Phew, another chapter is done! I want to point out Jace and Leone's bond is supposed to be funny, flirty, and ridiculous. They aren't together yet, but their Tengu does have a bond. big chapters like this will take 2-4 weeks, 900 chapters every few days in-between major chapters. The next chapter is in 2-6 weeks and will show Jace and Leone bonding more and hunting for information on Matias. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Akame is maybe soon… Also, Jace is supposed to be more of an assassin than Leone's brawler.