Chapter 16 - Shaken Faith

Pocket Dimension of Scáthach - Akame Ga Kill World - 2 minutes after the end of the previous chapter

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

Admittedly, it has taken me a minute or two to get the home theater up and running as I wasn't used to the setup the manor has pre-installed by the company, so I had to fumble around slightly in order to get a feel for what I am doing with certain buttons.

During the later years of my past life, I had since ignored TVs in favor of computers save for whenever I had played my multitude of consoles, so I would naturally need to get reacquainted with the latest tech.

Thankfully I am rather quick to learn when it comes to electronics both back in my old life and now, so now I can put the Akame Ga Kill Disc in for the first 12 Episodes and get everything going without any more hassle.

"Apologies for the wait everyone, just had to get everything set up as I haven't used this system until now…" I say with a slightly embarrassed smile, making Alisa sweatdrop, Esdeath chuckles in amusement while shaking her head, and The Boy Emperor simply watches on in slight confusion.

Eventually, I do make my to the couch to the right of the Emperor, not moving too close so as to not spook the kid before I use the remote to flick the currently on the screen to the channel we need it on and grab the Blu-Ray/DVD Player Remote to immediately press Play all episodes.

As the Intro for the starting Episode plays out, I glance over at both the Boy Emperor and Esdeath for their reactions, finding Esdeath's being more amazement at the concept of being able to watch something like this rather than the bleak outlook on the empire.

However, the emperor's reaction is far less positive when the Narrator elaborates on the state of his empire and looks incredibly distressed, especially as he starts to think back on the various people his uncle had him banish or handed down harsh sentences before shaking his head and focusing on the show

Unaware that the faintest traces of doubt now linger in the back of the young boy's mind, although his trust in Honest is still intact for the moment. It's almost enough for the Boy Emperor to miss the opening of the first episode, however, a certain someone next to him has most definitely been paying attention…

"Was that Najenda I just spotted there Scáthach…?" Esdeath asks me, to which I simply nod in affirmation to her question, much to the delight of Esdeath as she soon has a downright sadistic grin on her face.

"So….Najenda is a member of Night Raid then…It's good to know that my suspicions regarding her survival were correct, she is far too stubborn to die in the way the records said.." Esdeath says with amusement as she shakes her head, filing the piece of information away in her head…

I spot Alisa just looking back and forth between me and Esdeath, unsure how to react to the minor exchange but I silently shake my head, telling her to not bother with it for the moment through the conjunction link between us.

After that, we focus on continuing to watch the first Episode, although as we watch Show Tatsumi gets brought into the rich family's household, I quickly excuse myself as I swiftly head to the laundry room and grab two buckets before returning…

As I return to the home theater room with the buckets, I get looks from Alisa, Esdeath, and the Boy Emperor, all of them looking confused as to why I came back with buckets. Rather than saying anything, I choose to sit down and slide the buckets over to Alisa and the Boy Emperor before I then say…

"Trust me you two, you'll thank me shortly for the forethought.." My words raised eyebrows from the other three on the couch but I don't say anything, eventually, we get to the point where Night Raid begins their assault on the Rich Family's home.

Alisa is surprised at the killing of the seemingly nice Rich Family in terms of the Father and Mother, as the Boy Emperor just looks horrified by the actions of Night Raid, thinking them villains…

However, both I and Esdeath know full well that looks can be deceiving in this regard, with Esdeath curious to see what exactly it is that drew the attention of Night Raid. It all comes to a head right after Show Tatsumi's brief skirmish with Show Akame with Show Leone smashing open the shed that hides the family's dark secret.

Upon seeing what's inside, The Boy Emperor looks utterly and completely horrified that Imperial citizens could be so cruel, especially nobles. Eventually, the kid finds himself vomiting into the bucket with Alisa joining him with her own bucket not long after…

Meanwhile, Esdeath seems to be taking notes, likely in the event torture comes up in the future which is something I really should have expected of Esdeath to be fair. After giving everyone a moment to get it out of their systems, I continue the episode and watch as Show Tatsumi eventually cuts down Show Aria…

With the Episode soon ending there, I stop the player from starting the next Episode before turning to the Boy Emperor, intending to see how he's taking everything so far. The Boy Emperor just looks incredibly distraught at how a noble family could do such heinous acts, Alisa herself seems to be mentally kicking herself for falling for the ruse the noble family put up although most would do the same as her anyway so there is no fault in it…

"This is likely but one of the noble families that act without fear of retribution due to the corruption maintained by Prime Minister Honest your majesty…" I say with a solemn tone, noticing that the Boy Emperor seems to be quick to open his mouth but catches himself before he says anything, a heavily conflicted look on his face as he is wrestling with himself mentally…

While I am tempted to say more, I decided to not push things any further and instead have Alisa and Esdeath see to the Emperor for the moment as it's clear that watching more Episodes will probably have to wait until later for the Boy Emperor to wrestle with what he's seen.

As for me, I walk towards the outdoor area of the pocket dimension manor, intending to relax in the sun for a short while in order to contemplate my next move. Before long, I find a chair outside and sit in the sunlight, just basking in the warmth for a minute or two before pulling out my company phone…

I spend several minutes browsing the companion section of the Waifu Catalog application on the phone before finding my gaze being drawn toward two particular choices. The first of these choices is Tohsaka Rin, who seems to have an abundance of perks to choose from that could come in handy, although not intending on buying Ishtar Perk when I can buy an actual Ishtar.

The second one is one that tugs on my heartstrings regarding my past life, for I did have a list of Waifu that I would call a sort of Proto-harem of sorts with the woman in question being one of those women….

Sinon or Shino Asada from Sword Art Online.

I ponder my options for a moment as while I do have plenty of credits for both, Rin actually has a boatload of potential while Sinon has no perks to work with at the moment. It is right then that I remember that I have that voucher from Xigbar, before long I quickly grab the voucher from the pocket space and then punch in the code to redeem it for Tohsaka rin while also buying Sinon…

After that, I finalize the purchase, the voucher glowing in my hand before vanishing as the app lets out an audio confirmation of purchase. It doesn't take much longer than a few more seconds before in a brief flash of light, two women appear, each of them wearing a basic shroud that is connected to the conjunction link between me and my shroud-bound…

As Sinon and Rin open their eyes, they look confused for a moment before their eyes met, blinking for a moment before turning to me as Rin's eyes widen at the Manor behind me specifically…

"Well, at least those damn Edelfelts can't say that I'm poor anymore…." Rin says before shaking her head, turning to me as she gives a slight bow, looking quite respectful as I can sense through the conjunction link between us that she somewhat understands the situation before saying…

"As you know Mistress Scáthach, I am Tohsaka Rin, just call me Rin considering w-well…." Rin slowly blushed more and more as she is struggling to finish her words in a composed manner before just suddenly rushing off before she blows up and makes a fool out of herself.

I just watch her go with a slightly amused smile on my face before turning to Sinon, who is looking at me with an expression I can't exactly place right now before she has a slight smirk on her face.

"Not gonna lie Mistress Scáthach, it's a strange thing to know that you fawned over me in a previous life, judging by your thoughts…" Sinon says with amusement written all over her face, making me blush as it seems I wasn't doing a good job hiding my feelings regarding this situation, the blushing made Sinon giggle at me before shaking her head and giving me a soft, warm smile.

"Shino Asada, or Sinon as I tend to be called, I hope me and my sniper rifle will prove to be worthy of both your past and current affections in due time…" Sinon says as she walks into the house, with me just watching her walk into the manor to claim her room, my eyes are drawn to her particularly big ass that she has.

While Sinon never was the Bustiest of the Sword Art Online girls, that ass of hers makes up for that in spades, making me wonder how the shroud's slow increase of both bust and ass will work out of her.

I know it's probably gonna work wonders for Esdeath considering her Anime counterpart at the very least, before long however, I shake my head free of such thoughts and head on inside with the intention of showing the two their new home in detail…

Pocket Dimension of Scáthach, Manor Kitchen - Two Hours later

(Scáthach's P.O.V)

As I watch both Rin and Sinon hungrily devour the waffles I made for them real quick for breakfast, I begin to ponder on whether or not I should give Esdeath an elemental shroud as it would work well with her current skillset in my eyes.

Eventually, Rin and Sinon both finish their waffles with a comfortable silence settling in, Rin herself though seems to have something on her mind as she looks over to me before asking… "Hey Mistress, since you have the abilities, knowledge, and weapons of the Scáthach from my home world, would it be possible to perhaps learn magecraft from you…?"

The request has me raise an eyebrow, staring at her before I respond with a question of my own, soon asking… "Is it to enhance your family's jewel craft, for the sake of learning from Scáthach herself, or a mix of both Miss Tohsaka…?"

Rin blushes before muttering to herself and soon says as she responds by saying… "Honestly Mistress, it's a mix of both as even before my abrupt translocation from my home to where I am now, I still desire to perfect the craft my family has been working hard on…."

With her answer in hand, I end up agreeing to her request, which seems to have her incredibly excited at the prospect of learning from me. As for Sinon though, she's just watched the conversation with confusion, something that Rin notices as she begins to realize that she's going to be dealing with those unaware of the Moonlit world and almost certainly exposing the existence of magecraft while in other worlds…

"If I may ask you two, what exactly is magecraft…?" Sinon asks both me and Rin, with the two of us glancing at each other before Rin sighs, grumbling as she gets up and has Sinon follow her so she can explain it to the sky-blunette personally, their basic red shrouds fluttering in what little breeze exists inside the house as they head further into the house.

With Sinon now getting an impromptu introduction on Magecraft, I'll be curious to see if she ends up the second coming of the Magus Killer, would be amusing, to say the least. Actually, now that I think about it, she'd greatly benefit from Kiritsugu's template should I consider giving her one like I had Alisa…

Speaking of Alisa, I should resume her lessons while we have time today, don't want her slacking on any of her abilities and skillset. Not to mention I should consider having Alisa see if her God Arc can get materials from Danger Beasts as it would from aragami…

Either way, I get up from my seat and go see to see how Alisa is doing with Esdeath and the Boy Emperor as I begin to contemplate a single yet crucial question, the answer to which shall determine the moves I make from here on out while in this world…

Will Night Raid be an ally or a hindrance in regards to my Kill the Unfairness Mission…?

Imperial Palace, General Budo's room - Akame Ga Kill World - 3 hours later

(General P.O.V)

It's quiet in General Budo's room as the man himself stares out from his window, overlooking the Imperial city below the palace as he gazes down with a complicated expression on his face. He's had time to really calm down from the events of the prior night and thinks back to the shadowy figure that took down Esdeath and evaded even his speed.

Instinctively, he knows that his opponent was no mere kidnapper, and considering the spear she wielded, she was likely a Teigu user of some sort. The problem is though that he has checked the records for such a Teigu and the only thing that even remotely resembles the deadly red spear is the spear form of Incuriso, although even a passing glance can tell it they are not the same spear.

While he is furious at how the Kidnapper took the Emperor right out from under him, secretly though he is happy that the Emperor is no longer under the thumb of Prime Minister Honest. It's not exactly something he can say openly but he has had passing thoughts of considering getting the emperor out himself.

However two major problems would always ensure that there would be nothing more than passing thoughts, the Emperor's trust in Honest and of course Esdeath herself. It is something that always galled him that he wasn't able to do more for the emperor than just be his protector…

It's Ironic in a way, he is quite harsh on traitors and evildoers but harbors thoughts of sneaking the emperor out from under Honest himself. Ultimately his duty to his role is what keeps him going despite how everything is falling to corruption and decadence around him and he has been working to fulfill that role for years…

And now, even that has been upended by the actions of a single shadowy figure who stole away the Emperor, something that his code demands that he rescue the Emperor from his kidnapper. However, deep down, he knows that the Emperor might actually be better off with the Kidnapper and away from Honest's manipulations.

General Budo fully intends to find the Kidnapper however, if only to ensure that whoever they are, they're taking good care of the Emperor as with the Emperor no longer here, Prime Minister Honest's Power is legally limited.

Although Budo knows that a snake such as Prime Minister Honest will never allow his power to be limited for long, so he plans to keep an eye out for anything that might give him even a means to oust Honest, at least temporarily.

"My family has maintained our role as loyal members of the Imperial Guard for generations….I have worked to protect the empire from the rebels for many years now….to think that it would be during my time that the emperor would be taken from his home…" General Budo says while shaking his head, feeling a sense of shame for failing in his duty despite how it may benefit the emperor in the long run…

It is right then however that General Budo hears a knock on the door, breaking him from his musings as he glances back at the door to his room before he shouts… "Enter!"

The door swings open to reveal a member of the Imperial guard, who salutes and hands over some documents to General Budo, who looks them over curiously and is shocked to see these reports indicate sightings of the Emperor out towards some western villages…

"Solider, are these reports accurate…?" General Budo asks sternly, to which the Guardsman says that he was given the documents personally from Prime Minister Honest, making Budo narrow his eyes as he begins to wonder what the man is up to sending him these reports.

Before long, General Budo thanks the Soldier for the report and sends him on his way, reading over the report one final time before deciding to head to the villages in question to verify the reports himself, leaving his room to gather a small battalion in order to try and ensure that if the Emperor has been spotted, he'll have a proper escort back home…

Just as he is about to head towards the Guard barracks, he runs into someone he never expected to, Liver of the Three Beasts. Liver seems to have been deep in thought right before encountering General Budo and is caught off-guard when he runs into him…

"General Budo, where are you off to…?" Liver asks as he gives General Budo a respectful salute, which Budo appreciates and returns with one of his one before stopping to think about his answer as he soon says…

"There is reports of the emperor being sighted in the western villages outside of the capital and I am intending to head there myself to verify the information in the reports…" Liver nods firmly at that but general Budo can tell something is still bothering Liver as he soon asks him what is on his mind, prompting Liver to consider if he should answer or not before finally responding by saying…

"The Three Beasts are to deploy to pacify the northern tribes in General Esdeath's place by the order of Prime Minister Honest…" Liver's words make General Budo frown as he can tell that Prime Minister Honest is already making moves to deal with the situation at hand, as to what end he isn't certain yet…

But at the very least, General Budo can see that Liver is conflicted as the 40 so-year-old man is uncertain for some reason, making Budo curious as to what said reason might be. Liver eventually sighs before he soon speaks up and says… "I am unsure if the Three Beasts are up to the task, as the Prime Minister had implied he had intended to have Lady Esdeath take on the Northern Tribes herself and we are a poor replacement for her…"

General Budo sighs before placing a hand on Liver's shoulder, the white-haired middle-aged man looking up at the towering blonde man as he soon says… "While General Esdeath and I have had our differences, I know she has chosen her subordinates well…so if you must honor your fallen superior, do so by achieving what would have been her duty in her place…"

Liver looks surprised at the words of encouragement but soon has a resolute look on his face as he nods, saying his goodbyes as he begins to walk off to find the other members of the three beasts with determination in his gaze.

As General Budo watches him go, he can't help but smile as while the Empire is mired in plenty of corruption due to the actions of Prime Minister Honest, he knows that there are still good, loyal men who wish to protect the empire…

And perhaps he'll yet see a day when the Empire is purged of its corruption with the Emperor himself leading rather than relying so heavily on Prime Minister Honest. As General Budo finally resumes his walk toward the Guard Barracks, he makes a silent prayer to the first emperor, hoping that the boy's ancestors protect him in this dire yet crucial time…

One can only hope after all…

Author's Notes

Let me start by apologizing for taking so long to get this out, I and my entire household was just incredibly ill for days during the prior week and it lasted even to this week where only today am I starting to really recover…

I did my best to try and continue writing in an attempt to keep my mind occupied, but it was clear that my writing speed was greatly impacted as a result. So I hope you all can forgive me for not managing to stick to my intended time frame, despite my illness.

Now then, let's get to the plot point discussions…

Watching the first Akame Ga Kill Episode

Admittedly I had considered pushing to the second episode, but I figured it would be best to handle things slowly in regards to the Boy Emperor as well as showing the Future so to speak.

It also helps to highlight some subtle character moments, in particular how certain characters handled certain scenes in the show. Under regular circumstances, I could never agree to the notion of exposing a kid like the Emperor to the graphic scenes of the anime, but with it being his world and the fact he kind of needs to see stuff like this to properly understand what's going on behind his back, It's a necessary evil in this case.

Buying Rin Tohsaka and Sinon (Shino Asada)

Rin was a popular suggestion for the Voucher that Xigbar gave, so it eventually came to pass that I would have Scáthach buy her, although I do have a very particular Perk in mind to buy later for her that will work very well in this world.

Sinon on the other hand, is a purchase choice that is solely my own choice in this regard as I will admit I do have a thing for her and figured with her ranged options she would be a good Sniper for Scáthach's…..harem I suppose I should say…

General Budo's scene

With Budo being essentially unable to stop Scáthach from taking the Emperor, it has caught him in a very interesting situation as on the one hand, he wants to rescue the emperor as his duty dictates, but on the other hand, he knows that the Emperor would be probably better off away from Prime Minister Honest.

Also, the brief moment between him and Liver, who are probably the two most loyal men in the empire, works to have an interaction between the two considering they're both about to leave the palace for different ventures in service to the empire.

However, General Budo is aware that Prime Minister Honest is already working to try and manipulate the situation to his favor, he is just unaware right now as to what exactly Honest's goals are currently…

Now then, next time on Wrapped In Shadows: Further preparations for Scáthach's harem, a request from the Emperor and Scáthach encounters a member of Night Raid…

See you all on the 12th of June hopefully!