The night sky is filled with bright stars,whose lights came gazing down upon the earth and its inhabitants, ignorantly minding their own business, living out their lives to survive on this little speck of rock hanging in the infinite sea of blackness that is the void of space.
Among one of these inhabitants, is a silent wanderer looking for dinner up a tree in the middle of a forest, while a certain long raven haired girl wearing a dirty looking robe idly stood down below.
A soft gush of wind was heard, and the corpses of two headless crows kissed the earth, surprising the girl who was wide-eyed at the display.
Kai jumped down and grabbed the two dead avians to a nearby campfire he made earlier to prep them for dinner. The girl silently followed him behind, and watched him work as he plucked the feathers and gutted the organs with the same crimson sword he once used to save her from those imperial bastards back at the capital.
Her thoughts lingered on something in particular, something she hasn't realised since this evening.
"We haven't properly introduced each other, have we?" She voiced out, loud enough for her only company to hear.
They were so busy trying to avoid the imperial police and finding a place to stay away from the capital that they totally forgot they were still technically strangers to one another.
"...my name's Naoki...what's yours?"
Silence.
The only sounds audible were the crackling sounds of the fire and the rustling of leaves in the nearby trees.
"...um...i-if you don't want to tell me, then..it's fine-"
"Kai."
"H-huh?"
What Naoki heard surprised her, because it was the first time she heard his voice, since she first met him.
"So..uh...Kai, then?"
All she got in response was a nod, and the two went silent once more. It was just a short exchange between two strangers trying to know each other. It wasn't much, but it's a start.
The minutes went by, then hours.
Once the birds have been roasted, the two began indulging in their dinner.
Except one of them wasn't quite used to eating bare, unsalted meat.
Naoki had a hard time chewing the roasted meat and swallowing it, as she wasn't used to the taste, and Kai seemed to notice that. She saw the look on his face, and tried to comfort him,"I-it's nothing...I can get used to this..." She missed the spicy chicken soup her Nana used to make back home, but she dismissed the thought. They were gone now, there's no changing that. She knew there was no way she could go back now. It'll only be a matter of time before news of the dead members of the police were spread, and her face could be plastered on the wall at any moment. She wished she could just turn back time, and made sure none of this ever happened.
She tried to hold back her tears from falling while eating the roasted meat in front of her, although she was slowly failing at the former, as Kai noticed her sniffling sounds while munching on his own meat.
Poor girl, she must still be affected by what just happened. He couldn't really blame her for anything, her life turned upside down in such a short time, anyone would be severely traumatized after losing their family. She must be remembering bits of her past, of a time when everything was better.
That, or she really didn't like the bird he roasted. How unfortunate. He probably should've taken up the offer from that chef he once met from one of his many adventures. He couldn't even cook a simple omelette. He was so used to simply roasting his meals over a fire without any seasoning or with any complicated recipe that he never thought about learning how to cook actually decent meals.
After finishing his meal, Kai began walking up to a tree and stared at it with intent. Naoki had finished drinking water she scooped out of the river before in a cup, and was curious on what Kai was planning.
Seconds passed, and Kai unsheathed his sword.
His movements turned into a blur, and hundreds of invisible cuts were inflicted upon the tree, but not at its bark. Kai finally sheathed his sword, and all of a sudden, the leaves fell from the branches of the tree to the ground, which Kai gathered afterwards into one big pile.
Naoki was so stunned by his display of skill with the sword, that it took her a while to realize he had just made a bed for her to sleep in.
Laying down on the pile of leaves, she found out it was surprisingly comfortable, but that was probably only due to how tired she was right now. Honestly, she felt like she could even sleep on the ground without any cover. She saw Kai sitting far away from her, near the campfire. His eyes were closed, he looked like he was simply listening to the crackling sounds of the fire. She looked at him thoroughly, his looks, his features, his nature.
He never uttered a single word, except his name. And yet, he was more human than any of those imperial scum she had met back in the capital. Those bastards, they treated everyone from the foreign countries like garbage, viewing them as lower than themselves. Even her parents, who were simply trying to make enough money for the family, became victims of this discrimination. It wounded her heart just thinking back about it, so she tried to forget about it, and her attention went back to her only company for the night.
He was an enigma, an unknown, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and all of a sudden she now owed her life to him. And he never talked, except only once. And yet, she was comfortable with him, somehow. She felt like she could trust him with her life, as weird as that sounds, since they have only known each other for a day. She saw him opening his eyes again and turned towards her, in which she responded, by giving the most truthful smile she could muster.
"Thank you...for everything...you did..." And with that, she felt her eyelids getting heavier, until she finally succumbed to her dreams.
Naoki was asleep.
Kai however, wasn't feeling drowsy in the least.
Seeing her finally asleep, he jumped from tree to tree, making his way back to the capital. He had scouted the whole forest for any signs of Danger Beasts or bandits, and after making sure it was safe to leave her alone, he went on to fulfill his initial plan. Finding Night Raid.
Every leap he made, branch after branch, was done without flaw, making sure he didn't make a single sound, so as to remain invisible and not attract any unwanted attention.
Speaking of attention...
The sounds of what sounds like several suspicious figures dashing through the forest from far away caught the attention of his earbuds. Kai stopped in his tracks, and located the source of the sounds. He then made his way to catch up, whilst remaining hidden in the process.
After minutes of leaping through the trees, Kai stopped and saw with his eyes from far away, a large mansion, and in front of it, an interesting sight to behold.
Several armed bodyguards, presumably guarding the mansion, are practically getting massacred by a hulking figure clad in armor armed with a spear, accompanied by a long raven haired woman wearing dark clothes and armed with a sword. The last remaining bodyguard tried to run off, keyword being "tried", as he too, fell from a single shot to his head, thanks to a certain pink haired girl wearing similarly colored clothes, and holding a large gun. Standing by her side was a green haired man with a matching green jacket, both of them standing on some fine wires several metres above the ground.
It was truly a unique sight. Though it wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. Unpleasant memories of a certain fishing incident involving a waterspout, came to mind.
This must be it. This must be Night Raid. The ones responsible for striking fear into the heart of the Empire, fighting alongside a rebellion plotting an uprising against the tyranny playing out in this land. Although they were called assassins, from Kai's perspective, that doesn't sound like the most accurate description.
For one, their clothing is horribly undisguised. What kind of assassin wears pink, for god's sake?
Secondly, they didn't do too well to hide their work, and they're not even concealing their identities, save for that one guy in armor. At least that guy seemed like he had some common sense.
Too busy Kai was with his thoughts, that he almost didn't catch a peculiar sight from the corner of his eyes. A familiar brown haired boy with a sword in his back was running away from the mansion. He could've sworn he knew that boy, what was his name again? Takumi? Natsumi?
Eh, it didn't matter. Kai leapt into the lush greens in pursuit of the boy, Naofumi-whatever his name was. His chase came to a halt, as he saw Yagami, or whatever, eventually stopping in front of a short blonde haired girl with another bodyguard by her side, both in front of a suspicious-looking warehouse. The girl shouted to the boy in surprise,"Tatsumi!?"
Oh, so that was his name. Moving on.
In the middle of their conversation, Tatsumi was approached from the back by the same raven haired assassin he saw earlier. Her face, her expression showed no sign of empathy, only the instinct to kill. Tatsumi immediately pulled out his sword in defence. At this point, Kai wondered if he should step in and intervene, or let Tatsumi deal with this by himself. He seemed capable as a fighter, but the girl, judging from her looks and posture, seemed to be much more skilled than he is.
The girl ran forward, and simply jumped across Tatsumi, leaving him surprised, and instead headed for the bodyguard who immediately upon fire upon her. He might as well didn't, as none of his shots hit their mark anyways. The girl skillfully dodged every bullet, and carved a huge one on the bodyguard, leaving the blonde girl defenceless. Just as the black haired assassin was about to finish her, Tatsumi came in and pushed the assassin back.
The assassin held a look of confusion on her face, wondering why this naive boy would protect the blonde girl. It appears her target was the blonde girl all along. Kai was dumbstruck by this, why would Night Raid, go so far as to attacking a mansion in the middle of the woods, and trying to assassinate a little girl, and possibly her entire family as well. That doesn't seem very "noble" of them, considering what cause they're fighting for.
In the midst of the scene, Kai caught another individual coming into vicinity of the former three. A woman with long blonde hair and questionable clothing was watching the black haired assassin in some sort of staring contest with Tatsumi.
The two finally clashed swords, and it was evident that the assassin was far more skilled than Tatsumi was. He was kicked in the back by the assassin, and in a split second, faster than even Kai himself realized, the girl lunged her sword right at where Tatsumi's heart would be. Kai grabbed the hilt of his blade, ready to step in, until he realized the sword didn't go all the way through, which didn't make sense. Tatsumi eventually managed to get back up, and showed that he was unharmed because of blind luck. The assassin made her move again, and Tatsumi went flabbergasted at this.He tried to convince the assassin to stop, but to no avail. Her sword was already inches away from his face.
Kai decided he had enough.
A sudden clash of metal, broke everyone's attention.
Everyone widened their eyes at the display of the newcomer who swiftly blocked the black haired assassin's attack, all in less than a second.
Tatsumi was the first one who voiced out his surprise.
"K-Kai!!? What are you doing here!!?"
Tatsumi's mind was in pieces. After all this mess, the guy he met a few days earlier, the same guy who dumped him after reaching the capital, had now seemingly saved his life after coming out of nowhere.
From another assassin's point of view...
Akame was surprised by the black hairedstranger in front of her. He was quick, that was for sure. His clothes aren't anything special, save for that red scarf. His blade was crimson in color, which is definitely odd. Could it be another Teigu?
But what struck her the most were his eyes. Yellow eyes, almost like a predator. And his face, held no emotion whatsoever. She felt like looking into a mirror.
Even Leone, who was about to step in earlier, froze in shock. She didn't sense his presense before. Which meant whoever he is, he's no beginner for sure.
Akame returned to her usual stoic expression, and calmly said to the stranger," You're not a target. Move."
The stranger didn't move one bit. After what felt like minutes of solence between the two, Akame finally decided to take action.
"Eliminate."
She dissappeared from view instantly. Tatsumi was surprised by her speed and his eyes looked everywhere for signs of the black haired assassin to no avail. But Kai knew better. He heard a gush of wind, and his blade moved to parry the incoming attack from his left.
Akame was slightly surprised at this, but she kept her composure. She once again turned into a blur and dashed at the stranger from a different angle, only to receive the same outcome, again, and again. Her attacks became faster, faster than the normal eye could see, and each swing she dealt held more strength each time, in an attempt to break the stranger's defence and deliver a single, lethal cut.
It didn't work.
After what sounded like the hundredth clash of metal, Akame jumped away from the stranger and held a defensive position. It took her a moment to realize she was already breathing heavily. But what unnerved her the most, was what she saw.
The stranger held a calm look in his face, like he hadn't just parried a hundred attacks from her earlier. It almost seemed like he wasn't taking this fight seriously. Like he wasn't even trying.
She gritted her teeth, her calm expression breaking a bit, her grip on Murasame tightened, and she leaped forward once more, this time delivering a flurry of thrusts and slashes at such a quick rate, her arms became literal blurs. She struck every angle she could find, analyzing every move in an attempt to find just one single vulnerable opening to deal the killing blow.
She couldn't.
Their swords locked once more, and the stranger suddenly gave a powerful push with his blade, forcing Akame to jump back. He once again held his blade firmly close to his eye level and aimed towards her, signifying that he is definitely not someone, to be underestimated.
To say everyone was speechless would be an understatement. Tatsumi's mind was completely in pieces at this point. To think that this guy, the same guy who walks like a puppet, doesn't talk and likes to leave others in the dust, of all people, would be so skilled with a sword, with such skill, he could've killed him if he wanted to, and he wouldn't be able to fight back. Even the blonde girl from before simply watched in amazement at the display of skill in front of her. She almost forgot that she nearly lost her life a while ago. Leone was utterly frozen in shock. She had never met anyone who could withstand Akame's attacks like that, but what struck her as even stranger was that she didn't sense any killing intent from the stranger. A sudden realization dawned upon her.
Akame, had the greatest reaction. Her calm expression was completely broken. Her eyes widened at the stranger in front of her. In all the years she had spent fighting, she had never met anyone, who could resist her attacks in a sword fight, so easily. It was safe to say, she had truly met her match.
Her killing intent, which she had kept hidden before, had risen exponentially. This stranger was a threat, to herself, to her goals, and she couldn't allow that. She was about to lunge in for another attack, if it weren't for a furry paw reaching for the back of her uniform and pulling her backwards.
"Hold on a minute, Akame." Leone said to her partner, while holding her back. Akame was surprised by what her partner did and said to her. " What are you doing, Leone?" "Why are you trying so hard to kill that guy? He didn't even have any killing intent. He was just defending himself, and that boy in the back, I guess." Leone replied nonchalantly. Akame realized that her teammate was right. The whole time they were fighting, she didn't sense any murderous intent from him at all. He was on the defensive throughout the fight.
"...you're right. I got too carried away." Akame regained her composure, but kept her eyes on the stranger, who had also sheathed his sword. Leone continued," Besides, that boy in the back, technically I owed him a favor. I figured I'd repay him now." Tatsumi saw the blonde woman, and suddenly felt a click in his head and exclaimed,"H-HEY!!! You're the boobs from earlier!!" To which the aforementioned "boobs" replied," That's right! The beautiful lady from earlier!"
Kai stayed silent throughout the exchange between Tatsumi and the two members of Night Raid, now known as Akame and Leone, while contemplating in his thoughts. His thought were broken when he smelled a faint stench, coming from the warehouse. He stepped towards the warehouse where the source of the smell came from, when the blonde girl who had been on the sidelines the whole time, noticed the stranger walking towards the warehouse, and her heart raced. Leone also noticed the stranger walking towards the warehouse, and smirked.
"By the way, young man. You mentioned something about killing the innocent earlier, right? Well, can you say the same, after seeing what lies behind that?" She motioned to the warehouse behind them, after which Kai kicked open the front door, and he realized what the foul stench really was. Leone continued, "Take a good look, this is the imperial capital's darkness."
Taking a look inside, Tatsumi's heart sank, completely unexpected to be greeted by the hellish view.
Corpses, dozens of them, hung by the arms, some chained to tables, and many others caged within metal bars, their expressions of pure agony still present on whatever was left of their faces. "Wha...what the hell is this?" Tatsumi couldn't believe his eyes. Of course he couldn't, how could something like this even exist? Leone answered, "They lure unsuspecting people from the countryside with sweet words, and then tortured and played with them like toys until their deaths. This is what the household really is." Tatsumi looked to one of the hanging corpses, and realized that it looked familiar to one of his friends, ones that he had not seen for a while since coming to the capital.
"S-Sayo..?"
While Tatsumi was having an emotional crisis inside the warehouse, Kai kept his gaze toward the contents of the warehouse. These people, they could've been leading better lives, instead they met a gruesome death in this hellhole.
His expression remained blank, but his fists shook with fury. He then slowly turned his sights toward the blonde girl who had been quiet the whole time. The girl then jerked back seeing the stranger staring at her. Those eyes. Those damned yellow eyes, that struck perpetual terror into the hearts of those unlucky enough to be caught in its deathly stare, was enough to terrify her to the core, her body intensely shaking yet not moving, as she was too scared to even take a step.
"T-Tatsumi..." An unknown voice snapped Kai's attention back to the warehouse. "I-Ieyasu...?" Tatsumi was horrified at the state his friend was in. How? How could this happen, he thought to himself.
"That..girl...took me and Sayo to her..home, and...when we ate the..food, we lost...consciousness...then we came to here...that girl, she's the one..who tortured Sayo to death!" Ieyasu finally broke down after the last sentence, revealing the horrid truth to Tatsumi. Aria, the same girl who had given him food and a place to say, a girl with such a kind personality, she's the monster who did all this. His innocence had finally shattered. The truth of the capital's corruption has never been so much more obvious.
"...what's so wrong with THAT!!!? YOU'RE ALL WORTHLESS HICKS FROM THE COUNTRY, THE SAME AS CATTLE!! I'M FREE TO DO WHATEVER I WANT TO THEM, AREN'T I!!? AND THAT WOMAN!!! EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS JUST CATTLE, HER HAIR WAS SMOOTH!!! WHO DOES SHE THINK HE IS!!? WHILE I STRUGGLE WITH MY UNRULY HAIR!!! THAT'S WHY I MADE SURE SHE SUFFERED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!! SHE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL ANYONE PAID THAT MUCH ATTENTION TO HER!!!!" The girl known as Aria finally broke her innocent mask as her true nature unraveled itself in front of everyone.
"A family of sadists, disguised as good Samaritans. That's what they are. Sorry for getting in your way." Leone directed towards Tatsumi, while she let Akame do her job. "Eliminate." A single word is all she had to say, Murasame in hand.
"Wait..."Tatsumi's line bewildered both Leone and Tatsumi. Leone asked Tatsumi out of shock, "Don't tell me...you still want to defend her?" Tatsumi's answer, was brief and absolute. "No...I'll kill her myself!!!"
A sound of clashing metals was heard.
Tatsumi was dumbstruck by the sight of Kai, blocking his sword, seemingly trying to defend Aria. "What are you doing? Let me kill her!!! She doesn't deserve to live!!" Tatsumi exclaimed towards Kai, who responded by bringing his sword down, and walking towards Aria, while Tatsumi and the others simply stared in confusion.
A sudden gush of wind, and two dismembered arms fell to the earth below.
"Hah..hhHEEAAAAGHH!!!!" The girl screamed to the top of her lungs in pain, her eyes widening at her now non-existent arms, replaced with a bloody visage. She then felt intense pain in her eyes, and realized she had just lost her sights. Before she could scream again, she felt another jolt of pain from behind her kneecaps forcing her to kneel down on her legs. Kai slashed her eyes rendering her blind, and struck at her veins rendering her feet inoperable, as blood splattered everywhere.
"UWAAAAAAGHHHH!!!! HEAAAGH!!! HEAAAAAAAaaghh!!! Hiaaahhh...haagghh..." The girl-no, the monster who had tortured and killed so many innocents, was now reduced to kneeling on both knees, eyes crying blood, and missing two limbs. She no longer had the strength to scream, and was merely sobbing like a sorry excuse of a human being.
The look on everyone's faces can be described with one word. Speechless. Leone, and even Akame had horrified looks on their faces due to the recent spectacle. Tatsumi, was petrified by what he had just witnessed. Kai sheathed back his sword, and calmly walked back towards the group, and when he passed by Tatsumi, he whispered in his ears, words that shocked him to his very core. Not the sentence itself, but how calmly he said it.
"She's all yours."
He silently walked away, and stood beside a tree, while closing his eyes, and contemplating his thoughts.
He only thought of one thing in mind.
The bitch deserved it.
-
So...uhh, this chapter was definitely a lot longer than my previous ones. More than double the number of words in comparison. That's because I realize this story is taking a bit too slow, since it's already 5 chapters in, and I haven't even finished the events of the first episode yet. But also partly because a sudden wave of motivation suddenly drove me to write this long, so there's that too.
If you think the final scene was a bit too much, well I'm sorry to tell you, but expect more of pretty much that throughout this story. Kai isn't really your average protagonist. Let's just say I made him a little based on a specific character in mind. I think you know which one, a certain green guy with a chainsaw who's too angry to die. Yeah, you should definitely know which one I meant.
Anyway, hope you like this chapter, and ciao.