Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of The Lioness and the Wolf. Enjoy the 3200-Word chapter. I don't own AGK, Takahiro, Square Enix and a few others do.
(Unknown Location)
Leone sat on the busted and worn-down couch, kicking her feet back and forth as Jace looked over the documents he stole from one of Matia's camps.
"I both hate this piece of crap and admire him for how crafty he is," Jace said while pacing back and forth. "He's been taking resources through Honest's channels. Seems not everyone is happy you ripped Honest's guts out of him." Jace said as Leone shrugged.
"Most of Honest's supporters probably went underground when he got diced up." Leone said while Jace hummed, not sure at the moment if that was true or something Leone was guessing at. "Do you have any more information on him?" Leone questioned before Jace looked at her.
"He's in his 50s, has a scar running from his brow to chin. My dad managed to cut him at least once before he went down." Jace stated before passing one of the papers to Leone. "I do know he's stopping at one of the villages Esdeath demolished during her war with the resistance. He probably thinks that an abandoned village is a good hiding spot for the moment." Jace added as Leone frowned.
"And how many soldiers does this guy have?" Leone asked, her eyebrow raised. Jace rubbed at his chin for a second.
"Few hundred and growing," Jace said and cracked his back. "He's been recruiting mercenaries, criminals, assassins. Whoever wants to join up is welcome. I did hear he's looking for mostly Tengu users. You can guess why," Jace put in while Leone nodded.
Jace heard the coffee pot whistle and slapped his hand on the machine. Jace wished the resistance army paid well to be in it. The very 'house' he had was more or less nothing barely standing on its own.
"Well, I guess the coffee is going to be lukewarm like it always is," Jace muttered with annoyance as he rolled his eyes. "Did Night Raid have anything better than the resistance army?" Jace questioned before grabbing at one of the spare mugs. He brushed off the dust on it and went to go and wash the cups and plates he did have.
"Not that much better if that's what you're thinking." Leone said before getting up. She arched her back like a feline would and turned to face Jace. "Why? We destroyed most of them to keep the empire from finding out what happened. The only one we didn't? That one was right outside the empire. It was do or die anyway." Leone said before walking up to Jace.
Jace looked up at the towering brawler. Leone leaned on the counter and took a sip from one of the warmer coffees. It made her shiver which made Jace chuckled with amusement. A quick smirk at him made him shut up.
"Did Lionelle make you taller?" Jace asked, curious on why Leone seemed far taller. He had seen Night Raid at least once before. Leone seemed much shorter than before then.
"Maybe, I wasn't paying attention to it at the time." Leone stated before twirling her claws on the counter. "It's funny how small you are." Leone said as Jace scowled at her.
"Very funny, cat woman," Jace said before Leone hummed at him. Leone wrapped her arms around Jace, making him blush. "This is the third time you've hugged me, why!?" Jace yelled as Leone laughed.
"1? Because it's funny." Leone said and rested her head on top of Jace's. "Two, because I still have Lionelle inside me right now… Which is still drawn to that fancy little Tengu sitting on your stomach. And 3? Because you're drawn right back to me" Leone purred before Jace blushed and tried to pry Leone's tree trunk-like arms off.
"I-I'm not drawn to L-Lionelle's s scent!" Jace hissed as he pushed out of Leone's arms. "Your drunk if you think that!" Jace yelled, trying feebly to hide the massive rush of blood to his cheeks. Leone smirked and advanced on him.
"Really?" Leone asked as Jace backed up. He continued to backpedal from the woman. Her eyes narrowed again, and she grinned before Jace felt his back collide with something. He activated his Tengu just in case he needed it.
Leone smirked as Jace looked behind him to see he had backed into the sofa. Before he could maneuver around it, Leone struck. She placed each of her hulking arms on either side of the sofa.
Jace turned back to see her leaning over him. He was beginning to hate his idea of retrieving Leone for something like this. The woman constantly seemed to want to flirt with him.
"See, now you're all riled up!" Leone stated before leaning back slightly. "Besides, if I'm going to track down this scumbag with you? I and you need to get… Acquainted." Leone stated, purring the last part out.
"Can you stop making everything sound so… Dirty?" Jace questioned Leone who rolled her eyes.
"Live a little, buddy." Leone said before grabbing one of the papers from the sofa. She didn't move from her position, much to Jace's annoyance.
"Matias has a Tengu, eh?" Leone questioned as Jace sighed and leaned on the sofa till he could flip over it. He almost kicked Leone in the face while doing so.
"Yes, he has a Tengu that can create earthquakes," Jace stated while cracking his neck and letting out a stifled yawn. "But he usually allows his men to do most of the work for him," Jace stated before Leone plopped down across from him.
The sofa creaked as the two Tengu users stretched it to its limit. Jace was glad at the very least glad that most of the furniture he had was worn. At least it meant the junk had stood the test of time.
"And you still haven't tracked this guy down?" Leone asked, cracking her back. Jace managed to shake off his blush and the smell of pheromones enough to speak.
"You do realize while Esdeath was busy going head-to-head with your friend… And you were busy beating up Honest?" Jace said while flicking his hands through the air. "Matias and the rest of the imperial army was busy retreating from the capital. No offense? I was kind of busy tracking you down. If you would have liked, I could have chased down an entire army by myself rather than go find one of the best assassins and trackers on the continent." Jace stated as he crossed his arms and looked at Leone.
"Hey, I didn't ask you to go find me." Leone said while Jace chuckled in amusement.
"No, but I felt like doing it," Jace said, leaning on the battered armrest for the couch. "Matias isn't someone I can kill alone. I already told you why I went through all the effort of tracking you down." Jace said before getting up and heading to the door.
"Where are you going?" Leone asked as Jace hummed and cracked his back with an audible pop.
"To find Matias," Jace stated before grabbing his coat. "His trail is going to go cold if I don't start hunting him down anytime soon. Plus, the bounty money I've gotten is going to run out. I know a few scumbags their pay top dollar for." Jace said as Leone sat up from the couch.
Jace turned to the melee brawler and then adjusted his coat. He slipped on his boots.
"Coming?" Jace questioned as he looked at Leone. "They should have fixed up Lionelle enough for you to use it again," Jace stated and let out a sigh of annoyance.
"You do know this seems permanent, right?" Leone said, gesturing to herself as Jace hummed.
"Maybe, but at least you get your healing back or such," Jace said while cracking his arms. "It's better than nothing," Jace said while adjusting Lupusnal. His hair shortened, his fangs transformed back into their regular length and the fur vanished along with his wolf-like ears.
"You said your trump card is the ability to steal life from people to heal?" Leone questioned as Jace let out a yawn. "Sounds like Lionelle in reverse." Leone pointed out as Jace hummed.
"I heard the Tengu are similar, Leone," Jace said while walking outside. "That's kind of why you're treating me like catnip… And why I…. Hesitated during our fight." Jace stated, he didn't want to tell Leone he felt comfortable sitting in her lap because of his Tengu. It would lead to no end of teasing from her.
"You just happened to have a wolf Tengu, though?" Leone questioned as Jace looked at her.
"You managed to get a lion Tengu with the ability to heal from a merchant last I heard from some of the resistance armies," Jace stated before cracking his knuckles with a massive pop. "Being the son of a Resistance Major kind of gives you advantages. I got the rank of captain before I 'retired' as it were." Jace pointed out while humming.
"So, what exactly is your plan?" Leone asked as Jace cocked his head to the side. "Find Matias, fight your way through his entire army, and kill him head-on?" Leone questioned as Jace rolled his eyes.
"No, but I plan on killing one of his Lieutenants by the end of the week," Jace stated before sighing. "I heard one of the captains within the Imperial Navy is leading a recruiting mission along the shore. I plan on killing him and sinking his fleet. Matias loses the commander of his navy and a giant chunk of supplies." Jace added as the two walked down the path. Jace fixed his coat and shirt over his Tengu.
It was his ace in the hole as things were. Lupusnal wasn't exactly his first resort in combat. Jace had Leone and her super-strength alongside his training when it comes down to it.
Jace also knew for a fact that he was just one of the hundreds of soldiers. The empire focused all its efforts on killing Night Raid that regular soldiers didn't register on their radar.
"Stay here, there are plenty of people in the empire that hate Night Raid. Plus, Matias still has allies inside the city." Jace stated before cracking his neck. "I ran into some of his thugs when I was carrying you out of the city. I barely managed to get you out." Jace said before walking up into the city.
Leone sighed and adjusted the robe she died in. it might have been blood-stained, but it was the only garment she seemed to have. Her tube top had been shredded when she combined with Lionelle, and she had enough fur to qualify as a beast when it came down to it.
Leone sighed and decided to wait for Jace to return. This was her last mission. She'd finish it, then Leone would finally be able to rest at peace.
(With Jace)
Jace hummed and sighed as he walked through the streets. He could feel people looking at him. Jace had grown up seeing the corruption of the empire. His family gave up their wealth to help people who were worse off than them.
"And then people tried to kill us for not falling in line," Jace muttered while balling his fists up. "Damn it, uncle. You had to be the hero and then you died because you spoke out against something you didn't like." Jace added and muscled through the crowd.
The 'handyman' was someone who was able to fix Tengu. He also chose to charge a crap ton of money due to being one of the few people who could do so.
"I swear to god if he betrays me? I'm going to rip his throat out." Jace stated with anger while walking through the city. Jace turned into the alley and waited.
It didn't take long till he heard the clink of tools. Jace sighed and looked up at the masked man. Jace heard he fashioned it from a dangerous beast. The fact that he heard the jingle of saws and knives supported such.
For all he knew the handyman was a woman, the crimson cloak hides any distinguishing features.
"Ah, the customer of the hour." The handyman hissed; their voice muffled by the mask. Jace held out his hands. "It's interesting you brought me the Tengu of a member of Night Raid." The handyman stated as Jace frowned.
"And it's interesting you care," Jace said with a scowl. "I paid you more than enough. Hand it over, I need it." Jace stated before the handyman hummed and looked to the side.
"Fine." The handyman stated before producing the belt which Jace snatched from their hands. "So eager to fight, so much anger for someone so young." The handyman put in as Jace shook his head.
"My business is my business," Jace said before pulling up his hood and turning to leave. He blinked as he heard a noise and turned to look over his shoulder.
"Funny, General Matias asked for you." The handyman stated before someone approached them and put money into their hand. "I would hate to question the lord and his military allies." The handyman added as Jace frowned.
"Did you seriously plan to betray me when it comes down to it?" Jace questioned with an edge to his words.
"It's business, Captain." The handyman stated before departing. "Tell your friend I said hi." The handyman said and vanished into the shadows.
Jace sighed and looked around at the 4 thugs. He frowned at the moment.
"Did all of you decide to join up with that scumbag just because he paid all of you?" Jace questioned the thugs before cracking his knuckles, he knew they wanted him dead. Any desire to avoid that was a flat-out lie.
"He paid well enough for us to drag you to him for a little chit-chat." One of the thugs stated to Jace as the former resistance officer looked around at the men.
"And you chose money first?" Jace questioned the thugs. He did not expect an answer. Jace was not surprised when they had none.
Instead, one of the thugs went to grab Jace. The burly brute's size revealed his lack of speed rather quickly. Jace ducked through his arms, slugging the man in the chest as he surged forward.
"You damned…" The man started to say, grasping at his stomach. Jace cracked his knuckles and faced the other 3 thugs.
"Would anyone like to leave?" Jace questioned with a raised eyebrow. He didn't get an answer from a single one of the thugs. "Ok then," Jace stated before rushing forward again.
The thugs were big. Jace had no doubt they could and would take the wind out of his sails in one hit if they managed to get lucky with their hits. There was only one issue with that idea.
Jace was far faster than them. He weaved between their punches and kicks. He jabbed his elbow into one man's head, knocking him back with a crumpled nose. Jace then rolled under another's sloppy haymaker before kicking the man's legs and then wrapping his arms around the man's neck.
Jace wrapped his legs around another of the beefy thug's arms. This pulled him away and gave him all the leverage he needed.
One of the thugs collapsed to the ground, his head twisted to the side. That left 3 thugs left. Jace liked those odds.
The thug he had leaped onto the arm of threw him off as Jace hummed. There was no way he was activating his Tengu, not here. Jace didn't know if he was being watched by anyone else and he wasn't going to give away his abilities yet.
Besides, Jace knew how to fight without his Tengu. It was a weapon; he wouldn't turn it into a crutch for any reason or another.
One of the remaining trios lurched forward. Jace watched him pull a blade from the side of his coat. Jace wondered if the thugs had orders to bring him dead as well.
Then again? It wasn't like they had any reason to care at the moment. Jace knew they had gotten paid and if it meant offing someone for more cash? They'd do it. Jace had dealt with scum like this before.
He ducked backward, watching the man swipe at the air, trying to cut him with a lucky strike or such.
All it allowed Jace to do was grab the man's arm. This man was far faster, but it meant Jace had more muscle on him, and thus? More strength. He forced the blade into the man's chest and pushed him to the ground.
The remaining 2 thugs, which included the man Jace had slugged in the stomach looked at the battle. It had taken Jace less than 2 minutes to dispatch half of them.
"Like I said, would either of you care to wager your lives on this?" Jace questioned with a raised eyebrow.
One of the thugs shook, unprepared for someone he couldn't bully and intimidate. Jace stepped forward and the man bolted out of the ally faster than someone of his girth would be capable of.
Jace faced the last criminal before they heard a slight noise. Jace barely heard it, but he still noticed it more than the man did.
"I'll skin you alive, you piece of…" The man started to say before a figure dropped upon him. Their weight was enough to crush the man under their feet, killing him instantly.
Jace was greeted by Leone who rose from the body of the man.
"I could have handled him myself," Jace said before sighing. He felt bad for these men, but he felt worse for their victims. "How long were you up there?" Jace questioned as he reached for the pocket, he had placed Lionelle in.
"The entire time." Leone said before stepping off the body of the criminal. Her lion-like feet made her feel more animal than human. Then again? Her merge with her Tengu also helped with making sure she was far stronger, faster, and much better of a fighter.
"Please take this and let's go," Jace said, offering up the repaired Lionelle to Leone who grabbed at the belt.
That was before a blast of yellow, fire-like energy knocked Jace to the ground. Jace grunted in pain and looked to the former Night Raid member.
She had absorbed the belt into her body from it seemed, Lionelle was now permanent a part of Leone.
Author Notes
Phew, another chapter is done! I want to point out that Leone is going to gain some new powers but keep her more Lion form mostly. The next chapter will be in a few days and will show Jace and Leone hunting down the Naval captain and bonding more.
P.S: Next chapter and the one after that will be 900 words. Akame will be down the road.
