Here you go! ^^ The promised second chapter :P I don't really have anything else to say, so enjoy!


Soul in the Dream

CHAPTER 11

(Hitomi's POV)

"You guys, there's a new request.", the Boss had said earlier. "The target this time is a blood relative of the Prime Minister. A man named Iokal. Using the Minister's name, he abducts girls from the Capital and beats them to death.", she had explained. "His five bodyguards also share his guilt in this. This is an important mission. Everybody will attack!"


"That's the mansion Iokal lives in...", Tatsumi stated, looking at said mansion with binoculars. Us two and Mine were sitting in a tree facing the mansion. "It's security seems to be great."

"I won't be able to hit him at this distance.", Mine said, preparing her gun. "I'll have to wait until he comes out of the compound to strike."

"And then it's my turn after the shooting, right?", Tatsumi asked, pumped. "Leave it to me!"

"Hey, you forgot to include me...", I pouted comically.

"Hmpf.", Mine huffed. "Still, don't get your hopes up." She then locked her eyes to the mansion's entrance, where Iokal would come out. She looked extremely concentrated. I was tempted to put a hand in front of her eyes to see her reaction, but I refrained. I did want to live another day. That loli hits hard...

"He's come out.", the pink-haired girl said after a moment of observation. Tatsumi looked over with the binoculars and confirmed.

"Ahh... You can't attack now, a lot of people came out with him!", he said.

"So what?"

"What do you mean... How are you gonna snipe him?", he asked, unsure.

"It doesn't matter."

"Wait.", I interjected, raising a hand, not that she'll notice it anyway... "Did my stupid, irritable, annoying and unpleasant personality finally sucked all your sanity points away!? You're gonna kill the others if you go for collateral damage." Honestly, I would've loved to see that mansion explode, but losing innocent lives are a big no.

Mine ignored my comment and fired. Me and Tatsumi were expecting a big blast, but instead, a thin, yellow bullet-like laser shot from her weapon, whistling through the air towards the mansion. Before Iokal could notice, the tiny beam passed right through his head, while passing between each girl surrounding him, not harming anyone else.

"Holy hell!", I exclaimed, dumbfounded. "... I have no idea what to say to that..."

"You know, I'm a genius sniper.", Mine boasted, making me sweatdrop.

"Hey, hey... Only I can brag..."


(Normal POV)

Upon witnessing their master's death, Iokal's bodyguards went after the attackers, determined on putting them down. "Catch the assassins, no matter what it takes!", yelled one of them. "If we allow them to escape, the Prime Minister will kill us himself!"

"They shouldn't have gotten far...", another one said, looking around. The men's search was interrupted by the sound of people landing on the ground. They turned around to see Sheele, Akame, Leone, Bulat and Lubbock standing before them.

"Well, well.", Leone grinned. "Now then. Let's go wild!", she exclaimed.


After their job was done, Mine and the two boys went towards Night Raid's meeting point by passing through the forest.

"Ahhhh, geez!", Mine let out. She missed a step and nearly fell down. "These roots are hard to walk on...", she sighed.

"Want me to carry you?", Hitomi grinned, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

"In your dreams, idiot."

"Why so mean...?", the blonde pouted, looking away in false sorrow.

"Hey, Mine.", Tatsumi grabbed the pinkette's attention. "Do you think our pursuers have all been taken out already?"

"Those enemies were trained at koukenji.", she replied. "They may not be taken out so easily. It's the best martial arts temple in the Empire. If you're a relative of the Minister, the grade of your bodyguards goes up. Doing whatever he wants using his relative's name for cover... is the type of thing I hate the most.", she spat. Tatsumi looked at her with curiosity.

'Has something like that happened in her past...?'

"Ok, ok. As a special service, I'll tell you a story from my past."

'I haven't even asked!'

"Ooh, story time!", Hitomi cheered.

"I was born and raised on the western border of the Empire.", Mine started her tale. "And half of my blood is foreign."

Hitomi's smile faded. 'Oh-oh, I don't like the sound of that...'

"I was mercilesly ridiculed.", the pinkette continued. "Nobody accepted me. My childhood was made of misery."

Hitomi's fading smile quickly turned into one of his rare, genuine frowns. 'Why does everyone had a miserable life while I had a life of luxury...?', he asked himself.

"But, you know..." The pink-haired teen turned towards the two boys. "The Revolutionary Army formed an alliance with the people of the west. If we made a new country, diplomatic relations would grow, many races would mingle, and there will be no more kids who will suffer like me... Never again, will I let there be any form of discrimination...!"

'I understand now...', Hitomi thought, recalling when Akame told him not to make racist comments near Mine. He sighed, but regained a smile. He had a lot of respect for people who managed to live through humiliation and intimidation, and Mine was no different. However, that wouldn't stop him from being an idiot in front of her.

"Mine..." Tatsumi was visibly touched by the pinkette's story. But...

"And as someone who had so much to do with the Revolution, I'll get a giant reward and live like a celebrity!", Mine finished with loud laughs. Tatsumi was without word concerning the last comment while Hitomi laughed with her, complimenting her nice plans for the future. Although it was clear that he tried to diverge the subject away from Mine's past... The brunette noticed this and smiled at Hitomi's way of changing the subject.


"A~hah. I feel so refreshed~", Leone said after she killed the last bodyguard who was standing.

"They were quite strong, weren't they?", Sheele panted, wiping a little sweat from her forehead.

"... Strange.", Akame pondered. "There should have been five bodyguards..." Indeed, before the group of assassins was four bodies instead of five.

"I didn't even get to kill one of them, too.", Lubbock pouted, which made Leone laugh.

"Haha, you remind me of Hitomi when I first met him.", she grinned. When the green-haired teen gave her a puzzled look, she continued. "When Tatsumi killed the target, Hitomi was actually sad because he didn't have the kill."

"Really!? He didn't even killed before..."

"I know, right! He's a natural, I tell you! Just wait until he finally build some muscle!"

While Leone was praising the blonde newbie, Akame was still thinking about the missing bodyguard. A thought occurred to her, and she looked in the distance, praying that Mine and the two boys would be alright.


"We're almost at the meeting place.", Mine said as the group approached a lone tree on top of a hill. "That means mission accomplished!"

"You're still on mission until the minute you give your report!", Tatsumi said, recalling a certain black-haired girl's words.

"Hmph.", Mine did a small smile. "Those are Akame's words, right?" Before he could reply, he saw a figure jumping behind Mine, fist raised. He knew it wasn't Hitomi, so he jumped towards Mine to push her out of the way.

"Watch out!", he yelled as he pushed the pinkette away. With Mine out of the way, the figure punched Tatsumi right on the jaw, sending him flying a few meters away.

"Holy hell!" Hitomi quickly rushed beside Mine, readying his sword. That guys was strong, and he knew it.

"My skills surely have dulled.", the man said, cracking his fingers.

"It can't be...", Hitomi glared at the man. "You're one of those who keep bragging about their skills, those who are too full of themselves..."

"Like you're one to talk!", Mine yelled at the blonde, readying her gun and aiming their assailant. "Anyway, let's take you down a peg!" She fired at the man, but he surprisingly dodged the bullet. Frustrated, Mine shot two, three, four more times, without success. "No way...!" The pinkette was genuinely surprised that someone was able to dodge close range gun shots.

"Time to get rid of evil!", the man chuckled while approaching Mine. "I'll be delivering you to the Minister alive. I hope you're prepared!"

"Wowowow!", Hitomi said, getting between Mine and the man. "You do realise that the way you said that made it look completely wrong, right...?", he asked.

"Oh? Care to correct me, then?"

"Yeah, sure.", the young assassin said, his voice sounding serious. "That girl is not yours or the Minister's! She's MINE!", he yelled, earning a puzzled look from the man. He then quickly turned his head towards the pink-haired girl with a grin on his face. "Get it? You're mine and your name is Mine... hehehe..."

"You have got to be kidding me...", the girl sighed in exasperation. "Why the heck did the Boss accept you!?", she yelled-asked the blonde, who was laughing, much to the confusion of their opponent.

"Skill.", Hitomi replied, wriggling his eyebrows. He then looked back at the man in front of them. "And my ability to easily buy time.", he added. The man looked confused but instantly regretted his choice to remain still as he felt a pair of arms wrapping his torso from behind.

"This little...", the man let out. He completely forgot about Tatsumi, whom he thought was unconscious. 'That blonde brat was just buying time so he could get up and catch me... Damn!'

"Now, Mine!", Tatsumi yelled. "Shoot!"

"Tatsumi...", Mine softly said. "To give your life for me..."

"I'm not sacrificing myself, you moron!" "Just shoot'em already!", Tatsumi and Hitomi said simultaneously.

"You're a genius sniper, aren't you?", the brunette added with a smirk. "I've bet on you!"

"Shit! Let... go! Hurry!", the ensnared man was clearly panicking, rapidly hitting Tatsumi on the back of the head. The teen was clearly in pain, but he didn't let go.

"You know, Pinks.", Hitomi addressed Mine. "If you don't hurry up, I'll shoot for you." He smirked. "Knowing my skill with guns, I'll find a way to miss the big guy and hit Tatsumi."

"Yeah, yeah.", Mine sighed, readying her weapon. "I'll do as you like!", she said, charging up the bullet.

"W... Wait a sec!", the man went wide-eyed when he saw the gun pointed at him. He couldn't dodge, so he knew that he would die. "GAAHHHH!", he yelled when the bullet passed through him. "Guh... Ahh... You guys... Since you laid hands on a relative of the Minister... Don't think this is over...!"

"This is so cliché...", Hitomi sighed when the man died. "I mean, seriously, why the hell would he say that...?"

Mine ignored him and went to Tatsumi. "Seems like you have a little bit of courage.", she told him. "I can't help but to be a little impressed by-" She got interrupted when Tatsumi flicked her forehead.

"Say what you want, that shot was far too close...", he said. "My head almost turned into smoke there!", he yelled, pointing to the top of his head. A few hairs were missing and a thick smoke was coming out of the burnt parts.

"Pffffff hahahaha! This is just too good!", Hitomi laughed, leaning on the tree for support.

"What's up with you?!", Mine asked Tatsumi. "I was finally willing to accept you!"

"Shut up!", Tatsumi retorted, angry. "You're not a genius sniper! You're stuck somewhere on the student level!"

"What!? Of course I'm a genius!"

"And by the way, geniuses wouldn't call themselves a genius! Hitomi, help me on this one!"

"What!? No way! I'd rather side with Mine and laugh at you, Burny!"

"Seems like it would've been fine even if we didn't run here.", Leone laughed when she and the rest of Night Raid came to the scene.


Elsewhere, in the Capital, a duo of guards were running, presumably looking for something.

"We must find Ogre-sama's murderer no matter what!", the guard in front ordered the man behind him.

"Understood!" When the two men passed by an alleyway, they saw a rather large man looking at the Night Raid wanted posters.

"The same as me... A Teigu user... An assassin...", he muttered under his breath. He smiled, showing all his teeth. "Happy, happy. Can I go all out here?"

"Hey, you over there!", the first guard yelled, pointing at the mysterious person. "You look suspicious! Don't move from there!"

The man ignored the guard's order and walked towards the other two. Before they had time to react, their heads flew right off their bodies.

"It seems like..." The large man grinned, sheathing his blades. "the Capital is the perfect place to live. I kill and kill and there is always more... happy, happy..."


Ooooohhh... Who could this man be...?