"Mine, are you sure this is going to work?"
"Of course it will! Nobody's going to recognize you!"
In the streets of the Capital, Mine and Akame walked through busy crowds in public view. Normally, exposing oneself in broad daylight would be incredibly dangerous - but Akame was in disguise and Mine did not have a wanted poster on her yet. Akame wore a white dress, white slippers, and a straw hat; she also had her hair in a bun, and donned blue contacts to cover her red eyes.
It was all Mine's idea. She had come to Akame earlier, asking her to join her on a mission to investigate the Capital's surroundings. Akame hesitated, but Mine already prepared an outfit so that the former wouldn't be spotted so easily. In addition, Mine told her that the mission was to be kept secret between them, nobody else.
Akame understood. The whole point was to blend in the crowd while searching for corruption. Mine understood it as well, that's why she was so proficient in identifying places where corruption lurked its murky waters.
Like the dress boutique.
Or the tea house.
Or maybe that dainty bakery right across the street.
Indeed, whether it was trying on fancy dresses, drinking tea, or buying sweets, Akame dedicated her life and soul in battling the Capital's corruption.
"Oh, the gift shop is right around the corner," said Mine. "Stay right here for a second." As she pranced her pinky pigtails all the way to the shop like a peppy little girl (attitude, not stature), Akame was impressed of how well she was playing into the role. Nobody would certainly suspect someone who was acting like she was having the time of her life. If it weren't a facade, Akame would find it a pleasant sight.
Just then, Akame sniffed something so powerful it made her mouth drool. The aroma was coming from a vendor that served cooked meat. Without any restraint, she bolted to the vendor and ordered nearly all the meat the owner had.
"Jeez, lady! You sure have some freaky appetite, you know that?" The owner asked, bewildered.
Akame was too busy gobbling to talk.
"I've never seen a customer with an appetite as big as the Prime Minister! And he's this big!" The owner spread his arms wide to showcase the Minister's unflattering physique. Even if guards were to overhear and execute him on the spot, they would've agreed wholeheartedly. "However... for such a big appetite, you sure are a pretty little thing, ain't 'cha?"
"Mmm?"
"Pale skin, sea blue eyes, I'm sure as hell be surprised if you don't have a boyfriend at this moment. Then again, maybe you can find one right here..."
Akame immediately lost her appetite. The owner's lecherous look almost made her regret leaving Murasame back at the base. Luckily for her, someone else had already lost her temper.
"HEY! JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" The high-pitched shrill was soon followed by rampaging steps as a pint-sized chick cut a path through the frightened crowd. It was Mine! Coming to Akame's rescue! Oh thank goodness! "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU PERVERT!"
The explosive accusation broke the owner into a sweating fit. "P-pervert?! I-I ain't even done anything to her!"
"OH COME ON!" Mine barked, wrapping her arm around Akame's possessively. "WHAT KIND OF MAN WOULD TRY TO SWEET-TALK A CUSTOMER?! A PERVERT FOR PETE'S SAKE!"
Wow, Mine seemed to be playing the role really well.
"Oi, I don't wanna cause a scene here, missy!"
"THEN DON'T HIT ON MY FRIEND YOU SHITTY PERVERT!"
A little too well. Akame realized how Mine's seemingly convincing outbursts were drawing strange looks from the crowd. Uncomfortable with all this attention, Akame dragged the rabid Chihuahua as far away from the streets as possible.
Later, in a forest outside the Capital...
"Mine, I thank you for saving me back there," Akame panted, completely out of breath. "But you making outbursts like that would've blown our cover."
"Hmph! That creep deserved it!" Mine scoffed, arms crossed. "Besides, you deserve someone who treats you like a lady, not some object!"
Akame still grasped for air.
The irritation in Mine's voice quickly melted. "Anyway, I bought you something. You did a fantastic job on the mission today." She held out a small, white box with a red ribbon tied around it. "Go ahead. Open it."
Genuinely surprised, Akame took the gift and gradually untied the ribbon. When she opened the box, there laid a necklace with a shiny meat pendant. "Ah! It's wonderful!" Akame happily gasped. "Thank you so much, Mine!"
Mine smiled. "Well, I know how much you love meat, so I thought it'd be fitting for you to wear something you love so much. You can even wear it while we're fighting crooks. Think of it like a good luck charm of some sorts." A pink shade appeared on her cheeks. "Of course, when you wear it, maybe you can think of me..."
"Huh? What was that?" Akame didn't quite understand the last part.
"Er, I mean - d-don't think I'm giving you this just for other reasons!" The abrupt switch from sweetness to sassiness threw Akame off. "I'm only doing this as a comrade, nothing more!"
"Um..."
"I-it's not like the necklace has any other purpose besides good luck! Hell, I'm not even sure if it actually brings good luck anyways!"
"..."
"On second thought, forget wearing it! It's just some stupid scrap of metal with absolutely no help in fighting!"
"... Do you want me to keep the present or not?"
Egads, I just posted this fanfic and it already got 11 faves?! Now I have another reason to keep on going!