CHAPTER 17: THE BIG ONE

Mine walked down the hallway, trying her best not to look at any of her comrades.

"Ooh! The lovebird is back!" shouted Lubbock.

She pressed on, her walking switching over to stomping.

"Love at first sight!" added Bulat from the kitchen.

"Grr." Mine was growing redder with each passing second.

"Never thought anyone would win your heart over!" Sheele said with a smile.

Even that didn't make Mine feel any better. Inexplicably, everyone in Night Raid knew that she'd confessed her love to Sanfred. Just like that, the torment and banter had all returned, in one devastating tsunami of humiliation.

Finally, Mine made it back to her room, slamming the door shut. She threw herself on the bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what her life was like before all this. Had she really been such a huge bitch that everyone at Night Raid had steered clear of her wrath? Now that she was softening up, they were getting her back. That had to be the reason. They were getting revenge.

As much discomfort as it brought her, Mine still thought back to that moment on the hill with Sanfred. He had been so sincere when he poured his heart out to her. Sure, he still seldom revealed his passion, but by now, she knew what it was like for Sanfred to show his true colors. He really did love her.

She had no reason to be upset.

In fact, Mine felt better already. She crossed her hands behind her head and smiled as she stared up at the ceiling. At least, now she could accept that this was no mere childish crush. What they had with each other was real. Maybe she doubted it before, but after what she saw in him when he told her the bold words, she was convinced.

"Dammit," she said, a dumb smile on her face. "I'm in love with this man."

The other side to that equation began to fall into place. She wanted to marry him, live with him, have a family with him. Everything. It all came crashing through, as if she finally unlocked that door to her dreamy side. Maybe in the past she had dreamt of those things, only to relinquish them along her journey. Being a professional assassin eager to change the world so that youth like her wouldn't suffer didn't leave room for the dreamy stuff.

But that didn't change the true feelings in her heart now. She wanted those things, whether she admitted it or not. She did admit it. Now that she was sure of it, it was much harder to dismiss.

Even so, she was determined to see this revolution through. It was her life's work to fulfill this role. There was no way she could abandon it.

Eventually, Mine left her room to rejoin the meeting hall. The rest of Night Raid was there, and Najenda greeted Mine with a smile. She nodded in return, then made her way to the end of the table, sitting in the one empty seat between Sanfred and Tatsumi.

"Hey," Sanfred said quietly.

"Hey," she replied with a wink.

"Now that we're all here," Najenda began, "There is something I must report to you all. We have a very difficult assignment ahead, and it will require the efforts of the entire team. That's right, we must all go on this mission together."

"Whoa," Sanfred and Mine said together, along with a few other people.

"What's going on?" Akame asked suspiciously. "I thought you said the revolutionaries were going to give a few assignments. You never said anything about one huge mission."

Najenda grinned, scratching her hair as she recalled her words. "Yes, it's true that I said that. However, it turns out that all those little assignments are essentially part of one single large mission. By combining our efforts, we can demonstrate our degree of professionalism. The revolution will greatly prosper if we are successful."

Everyone was giving their full attention now. This was no ordinary mission.

"Now then, allow me to explain the situation. We've got a few ministers under the Emperor that are staging a secret operation behind their exalted ruler's back. These ministers are planning to seize some Imperial Arms, and then they are going to attempt to overthrow their leader."

"Why not just let them do it then?" Tatsumi suggested.

"A valid point," Najenda admitted. "And one that I reviewed at first. However, these ministers can hardly be considered the competent ones of the pack. And in addition, it's going to take them a long time to see their insurrection through. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries have received word that General Esdeath has been summoned to return to the Empire."

Everyone gasped upon hearing that. No doubt, the reputation of the fearsome general was well-known.

"What's going to end up happening is this insurrection is going to fail, and the Emperor will acquire Imperial Arms from the ashes. That will only make him stronger." With that said, Najenda clenched a metallic fist. "Which is why we are going to butt in. We'll kill the ministers, along with their armed forces, and take the Imperial Arms for ourselves."

"So, it's an opportunity to acquire new weapons," Tatsumi explained out loud.

"A good one," Akame added. "If we all go, we'll definitely overwhelm them."

"I cannot help but wonder how this could have been 'little assignments' beforehand," Sanfred inquired. "Do you have a time and place for a meeting already?"

"We do," Najenda confirmed. "And thanks to that piece of information, we don't need to pick them apart gradually. Now, we can wipe them out in a single blow."

As good as it sounded, Sanfred remained skeptical. "This information was acquired rather easily. Perhaps it is not reputable."

Although she was confident, Najenda was more than willing to acknowledge concerns from her team. "If the information ends up being invalid, then we'll still be there in full numbers. We can handle any tricks they attempt. I won't be taking chances with this one."

Everyone seemed on board with the plan… except for Sanfred.

Mine noticed that, although she didn't say anything out loud. Once again, her man was distant from the alure of pending combat. Such a talented warrior, yet he was never truly committed to this revolution.

Once the meeting came to an end, everyone began to chat with each other about the details. It had everyone excited and eager to get into it. Just another eight days and then they would get their opportunity. And acquiring new Imperial Arms was always a fun activity.

After a while, Mine walked up to Sanfred, who was standing away from the others. "Try not to be too excited," she said with a grin.

"I am, actually."

"You don't look like it," she pointed out, poking at his shoulder playfully.

"It will be the first time we all went on a mission together. This is exciting."

Mine looked at him suspiciously, but ultimately smiled and nodded. "Which of us will kill the most enemies?"

"A pointless question," he replied. Once he saw her sigh, he grinned mischievously. "Obviously, it will be me."

"I'll double your count!" she insisted, placing her hands on her hips confidently.

"You'll halve it," he countered, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Like hell!"

They went at it again, as they often did, arguing amongst each other. But this time, there was a playful competition they shared as well. It didn't feel like scratching sandpaper. Instead, the argument was a streamlined path to sorting things out.