Hey everyone, hope you've been enjoying things so far, the schedule may be a little inconsistent, but I try to upload at least once a month due to real life stuff, this may still be a long journey through 2023, but I'll do my best to finish this with confidence and be happy for myself in the end.
The Jaegers
The team was making their way through the landscape to hopefully confront Night Raid, instead of being on foot they rode horses to make the trip faster, Daikon took a glance at the large lake, been a while since he's seen one that large, but he focused back on the trip "We there yet?".
"Almost, we can pray that this is them and not yet another Bandit problem" Run mentioned to them, he was acting as temporary leader in Esdeath's absence, he shook his head and sat up straight "The troops reported seeing activity near this place, so there is a chance we're successful".
The spiky haired assassin stretched his back a bit after a long while, he was feeling bored of nothing happening...but he looked forward to their eventual battle, Kurome looks around with some interest, the beautiful scenery made her feel calm and at peace, letting out a soft sigh.
"You alright Kurome?" Daikon curiously asks, trying to see if she's alright, the black-eyed girl nodded in response, she was fine...but she could sense her sister was somewhere nearby, there was some anxiety deep down, but she tried staying strong for her team...and her friends.
Eventually, they all manage to make it to Night Raid's supposed hang out, there was no one there...only silence, everyone jumped off their horses and began looking, "Those evildoers won't hide from us for long..." Seryu mentioned, her dog barked as it followed her.
Daikon stretched his arms, he could sense something nearby...but he doesn't feel any malicious intent, to avoid only thinking about the mission, he made his way to Kurome's side, who was staring at the lake "You've been quiet lately, more so than usual" he scratched his head.
Kurome's eyes reflected the sparkles of the water, she could more easily speak in this place "I'm sorry, there is a lot on my mind", she kept her hands off her teigu, letting her guard down "I've been thinking about my sister...if she was right the whole time...if I can keep doing these jobs without exhausting myself".
Daikon nods his head to respond, he wanted to hear what was on her mind "You've been focusing too much on the job, it's ok to kick back and relax once in a while", he looked worried for her, not wanting her to overwork or get herself hurt on accident.
She can agree to that, she sighs with relief, glad to get one of these topics off her mind, the spiky haired boy had his arms around her "Hey, how about we hang out on our day off, just us two?", Kurome jumped in response of his action, but she turns to him with a blushing smile "Of course, I'd love that".
He smiled back, his mood lightened up from her happiness, they both returned to looking for their enemies, both keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, though Bol's voice would call out to everyone "Guys, I think I got something".
There was a strange object, some stuffed statue of a man, Run shook his head "I don't have a good feeling about it, stay back", Kurome was weirded out by this statue, but she has the feeling they aren't alone, she heard a loud gunshot in the distance.
The assassin quickly dodged a small yellow beam, this caught her by surprise, she glances at the direction of the shot, in the distance was Mine, looking at her with a shocked expression, Kurome swiftly unsheathed Yastufusa with a serious face "Enemies!".
Suddenly the stuff man was revealed to be Susanoo from within, breaking free and aiming his weapon towards her, "Kurome!" Daikon shouts as he jumps in front of her to block the attack with his sword, the two clashed against each other, but Daikon would be able to push back the horned man.
All the Jaegers were on guard, especially when more of their enemies jumped into the scene, Akame, Tatsumi, Leone and Najenda stood in their way, the leader of Night Raid spoke out "Kurome, Bols, and Daikon, you are our targets!".
Daikon was unhappy upon hearing this, not with the threat of his own life...but the threat of his friends, he looked towards them with his blade pointed at them "Nah, you won't be killing any of us", but he would calm himself, not letting the enemy get to him "Either way, I hope you guys are a challenge".
Kurome was face to face with her sister yet again, after a long time of searching she finally found her, "We meet again...sis" she stared with a serious glare, all she can feel was bitterness...but also confliction, Akame had her blank expression, but she was a little nervous in the inside.
The black-eyed girl noticed they were a little outnumbered, but she can risk not using her puppets yet, Kurome gets into her sword stance as she locks eyes with her red-eyed sibling "I'm not letting you escape until I get answers...", she wanted to talk with her, but she would start with a clash of teigus.
Run suddenly flew up with his teigu's wings and fired multiple feathers at the enemy, Seryu begins attacking Najenda, but Susanoo threw her to a safe distance and blocked the hit, Bols used his flames to keep them distracted, the battle has now begun.
Akame dashed towards her sister without a second thought, but after clashing...she realized Kurome's strength was far greater than before, Kurome kicked her back and countered with her own sword swing, she was having the upper hand against Akame.
"I've been training to defeat you sis, I'm not losing to you" she muttered before continuing her attacks, the red-eyed assassin never fully realized just how much her sister can grow in strength, but deep down she knew there was a reason to be training.
Daikon was met with a rematch with Tatsumi, but this time he had Leone backing him up, after knocking them back he swung his blade before putting it back in his sheathe, he gets into his martial arts stance...this time wearing a grin "Maybe this time...I can be excited about fighting".
He hits Leone with a gut punch, sending her flying back before landing a roundhouse kick towards Tatsumi, he noticed the Incursio user's strength has increased from last time, while he knew how serious things can get, he can't help but be eager to fight opponents like this.
"I'm not losing like last time!" Tatsumi remarked, the exchanged blows before clashing attacks once again, Daikon counters one of them with a jab to the right side of his helmet's face, kicking his stomach with his knee and ending the combo with an overhead elbow attack.
All the other Jaegers had their individual fights, as the carnage went on...Mine watched from afar, still surprised with Kurome's dodge "I can't believe she was able to dodge that, she really is Akame's sister", but as she changed pumpkins firing mode...she thought about another thing.
She noticed Kurome and Daikon's conversation, even if she couldn't hear what they were saying...they looked close to each other, Mine shook her head, keeping her focus on the job at hand "I can't sit here and do nothing, I must help in some way".
She quickly jumps down a slide down a safe part of a small mountain to reach the battle, but afterwards she noticed Seryu, stopping dead at her tracks as she was shaking, Mine was angry...as if she knew who she was, the pink-haired sniper instantly starts shooting towards her enemy.
Seryu dodged the bullets coming her way, locking eyes with her new opponent "You again, I'll be sure to finish you off!", she commands Koro to give her a weapon as well, afterwards it was revealed to be a machine gun, firing back at Mine with a crazed look.
Kurome lands a thunderous kick to Akame, sending her flying into the water behind them, but as she walked towards she sister...she notices there were more enemies, Kurome instantly avoids an attack from Taeko, she looks with surprise "An Oarburgh!"
"Former Oarburgh..." Taeko responds, she held her scythe and points it at her with a serious glare "Kurome of the Jaegers, you will be punished...", Kurome was annoyed to see another one of them, she instantly attacks the newcomer, wondering what this enemy has in store this time.
The black-eyed girl still had an advantage, but the scythe attacks caught her off guard a bit, she held her guard up this time, making sure to dodge and counter with skillful Intellect, Taeko gets on the offensive, trying to not give her opponent a chance to attack.
But as this fight was going on...Akame jumps out the lake, giving Kurome a surprise attack, now she had to deal with 2 opponents this time, decides to get to a safe distance and point her sword upwards "Doya!", she summons one of her puppets to distract Taeko.
Kurome continued her fight with her sister, and after multiple clashes Akame was starting to get a little fatigued, but instead of instantly going for a kill...Kurome stood in front of her "Sis...why did you leave us?", this was the question she was waiting to be answered.
The red-eyed girl was shocked that she wasn't using this chance to kill her, she would then try to tell her the story "I was unhappy with all the deaths of our friends, I was fed up with it all and wanted to bring you with me...so you can avoid that fate...".
Kurome stood still, remembering the time she had a conversation with her days before she defected, she didn't know what else Akame had been going through, even if they were on the same side, Akame continued her speech "I wanted you to defect from the Empire and we work together to take it down, that's all I ever wanted...".
Her words echoed in her mind, part of her didn't want to agree...but she would try to listen to her reasoning, Kurome was expecting not to buy into her sister's words, but over time she had calmed down since the aftermath.
The black-eyed girl remembered they had been on separate missions for the most part, she never got to see much of what Akame saw, Kurome was now much more conflicted this time, not as ignorant as she was before.
She would let out a soft sigh, wondering why she never thought about talking with her sister more often before her change of sides, Akame noticed her confliction, this time she had more confidence "Kurome, I'm sorry I wasn't with you more often before, but I'm sure we can talk things out at our base".
Kurome looked into her sister's eyes, she began to think to herself "Is what she is saying true, it must be...but is the Empire really that bad?", she wondered why it took until now to fully realize Akame's words, they have been loyal to the Empire for so long she didn't think of the possibility of them being corrupt.
All the noise from the fighting has gone quieter at this moment, Kurome had to think about this as she sheathed her blade, this is the moment to make up her mind, she looked around to see everyone else fighting, but she turned back to Akame offering her hand to her, she lets out a quiet sigh.
Daikon's battle
The spiky haired assassin was dominating the fight, his skill in martial arts outclassed Tatsumi and Leone's brawling attacks, he kicked Leone farther away before firing a quick Primal Canon towards Tatsumi, the armor-clad warrior manages to dodge the beam, surprising even him.
Daikon shoots multiple ki blasts towards the ground, creating debris that blocked his opponent's sight, he jumps up before Tatsumi punches through the debris, looking confused, just then Daikon appeared behind him with a knee kick to his back, causing quite a bit of pain.
"He's still unbelievably strong, I need to keep my guard up" Tats thought to himself as he laid on the ground, as he gets up, he looks at himself, Incursio itself is strong...but there are limits to its power, "Bro mentioned the armor can evolve, could it possibly happen again?".
Daikon would face towards Leone, but she was already busy with another opponent this time, he turns back to Tatsumi "You're a lot stronger this time, but your self-improvement should never end" he said as he stood still, the brown-haired boy was confused...but stayed focused.
He sprints towards him with a punch, but Daikon dodged, he did however land a kick to the side of his chest, Tatsumi rapidly punched his stomach as fast as he can, but before he can finish his combo, Daikon grabbed his fist, pulled him closer and kicks his gut with his knee.
He chopped the upper side of his back and punched him into the side of a large rock, the spiky haired assassin did not have any negative thoughts about him despite having the upper hand, there was always the potential he can learn from all this.
They both traded blows yet again, but Tatsumi was a lot more eager to prove himself, doing his best to match his enemy, he was doing well this time around, Tats punched Daikon's face before launching a swift kick, but the final attack was blocked.
Daikon takes advantage of this and swings him around, throwing him towards the forest section of the battlefield, similar scenery to their first fight, he dashes towards him, ready to shoot another blast, but he could sense more people nearby.
Tatsumi gets back up, this time would have a question to ask "So, is there a reason you're fighting...besides for your allies?", trying to get back energy, while also curious about Daikon's motives, the spiky haired assassin puts his arm down, willing to have a conversation.
"I fight to better myself, fighting strong enemies pushes me to break my limits, I don't care too much about being morally right...I want myself and others to learn and grow from our flaws..." Daikon answered his question with honesty.
Tatsumi didn't think anyone would have this mindset, let alone someone from the Empire, he rests his shoulders, staring at him with his helmet's yellow eyes "So then...why fight for the Empire?", while they were talking to each other, he can still feel they weren't alone.
Daikon would answer one more question from him "I was forced into it like many others, but I never wanted to abandon my friends who fought or died for this side", he gets into his battle stance, ready to trade blows once again.
The amor-clad assassin now has a good idea of how Daikon is, while he may not fully understand these motives...he can respect him, but this would leave him with another question "So if more of his friends joined our side...would he ditch the Empire for good?" he asked himself.
The warriors battled it out, Tatsumi can adapt a bit to his fighting style, but still has trouble facing him when he starts using ki, Daikon would give him a smile before unsheathing his blade "If you survive...I hope you can come back even stronger...".
He aims his sword in the air, yellow ki would strengthen his blade and increase its size "Spirit Excalibur!", he swings around, trying to hit Tatsumi as he evades and dodges his attacks, cutting up trees in the process, Tats knew he can't counter this attack easily.
The armor-clad warrior manages to dodge one swing and deliver an uppercut to the jaw, he would prepare for another hit, using more power to strengthen his fist, but just before his hit can land, his opponent quickly moved his head on instinct, avoiding the punch.
Daikon would counter him with a devastating punch to his stomach, kicked him up and prepared a mighty slash, but Tatsumi, while injured, tried blocking his body with both his arms, and after being hit...he flew farther away, screaming until he landed somewhere else.
The spiky haired assassin let out a sigh, powering down his sword and putting it back in its sheath "Well, maybe he'll come back later", he turns back to the distant battlefield, wondering how everyone else is handling their fights.
But he couldn't shake off the feeling that he still wasn't alone, someone could be watching him, he can sense it, he turns around with his fists up but was only met with the trees he cut up, he was about to leave until he heard someone's voice "Hello, anyone there?".
Daikon looks around the forest, trying to find this person, eventually he spots someone walking through the forest, a girl who appeared to be from Dark Squad, she had shoulder-length brown hair with blue eyes and wore the Dark Squad outfit, he looked closely before approaching "Yo, did Kylie send you".
The girl nods her head "Daikon, it's good to see you again, yeah...he sent me to help you guys out", he was surprised to see someone from his old squad again, but something doesn't feel right to him, she scratched the back of her head "But before we go out, I need to catch my breath".
As she sat down, Daikon was confused, he never really met anyone else in Dark Squad who was as expressive as this person, at least from what he can remember, he kept his eyes on this mysterious ally, trying to remember the last time he saw her.
He would feel the pressure to help his allies, after a couple minutes he held out his hand for her "Alright, let's get going", the brown-haired girl smiled as she lifted herself up, but as they walked, he grew more suspicious of her.
Daikon looks at her with a confused look, she talks like they were friends...when he possibly never interacted with her "I don't think I met someone like you in Dark Squad, are you a new member?", this time he was sure he doesn't know her.
The Dark Squad member was a little nervous to answer, but she would try "Well...I was with you during one of our raids, and-", she was interrupted by a loud gunshot, Daikon quickly pushes her aside and dodged the sniper bullet, he clenches both his fists, now much more on guard.
There were no signs of any sniper anywhere, they were completely absent, "Who was that, another member?" he asked himself, but while he had his back turned from the girl...she slowly rises back up, pulling out some sort of cloth.
She quickly covers his mouth with a cloth and wrapped her arm around his neck, trying to make him pass out, Daikon quickly realized the assault and hits her stomach with his elbow, causing her to yell in pain and be knocked against a tree.
Then suddenly smoke covered her body, and when it disappeared...the imposter was revealed to be Chelsea, Daikon prepares a charged punch before he noticed who it was, he stopped himself from attacking as he gazed with surprise "Chelsea?!".
The red head covered her stomach in pain, but she would be able to recover, she gets back up and nodded to his shocked response "Yes, it's been quite a while", she was confused to see him not attack, even though they were enemies "You're...not going to finish me off?.
He remembers they helped each other out during the crisis with the Oarburghs, he nodded to her question "You helped us out that one time, even though you're from Night Raid...I can't see myself killing you...", she was still shocked by this.
Either way, she would take advantage of this situation and try to talk to him about their intentions "In truth, we set this all up because we're in huge trouble, there's an enemy that's greater than we can ever imagine...and we need your help...".
Meanwhile, Kyoroch
Bliz watched over the ashen town he had destroyed, he waited for the arrival of Esdeath, ready to assert his dominance over the Empire as a whole, his subordinate Cinder stood beside him, equally as prepared.
"Cinder, you're my right-hand man...make sure not to fail me" the leader spoke in a calm, yet demanding tone, the red skinned warrior nodded, not wanting to disappoint his master, but due to 107's performance over Night Raid, it would seem they don't have to be completely on edge...but still must not be careless.
Cinder would unsheathe a sword from his back, it was a black short sword with a handguard and chain tassel on the hilt, possibly a teigu delivered by 107, he points his blade forward, wearing a determined frown "My lord, I shall slay our enemies in your name".
To be continued...
