Haru was ready for this next attack, and Zank was probably aware of it and just didn't care. He charged anyway with his trademark grin. Bracing himself, Haru waited until the last second and dove to the side. Twisting in the air to keep Zank in sight, he saw that he had moved to lash out at his leg. Haru just managed to twist that leg to keep it clear of the blade, but it was a near thing and resulted in him landing awkwardly. This gave Zank the opening he needed and he took full advantage of it. Lashing out with his other blade he cut down along Haru's leg, and he winced as he leaped back further while taking a swing at Zank to force him back. When he landed again, Haru winced again as he was forced to take some of the weight off his left leg. The wound wasn't enough to cripple him, but it was a serious handicap.
Looking up, he noticed too late that Zank had charged again. All he could do was bring his sword up and prepare to defend. Before he could crash into Haru again, a katana was thrown down into the ground between them, forcing Zank to break off his attack. Haru just smiled as Akame leaped from a nearby rooftop and landed between them, grabbing her sword and bringing it up in one smooth motion. "So, no one's coming to help, eh?" Haru asked as he moved up next to her, "Any other predictions you want to make, Zank?" "My, now this is a surprise," he said, his smile growing broader, "You're the assassin Akame, right?"
Ignoring Zank, Akame turned her attention to Haru and noticed his wounds. "Are you okay?" she asked, her gaze softening slightly. "I'm still breathing and can move," Haru replied, rotating his sword arm and trying not to show the pain, "So yeah, I'm fine." She almost looked like she was about to press the issue, but then returned her focus to their opponent. "I'll finish this quickly then," she said, her gaze hardening, "Then tend to your wounds." "My, how touching," Zank said, laughing, "You sure do like to play the professional, don't you Akame? You're reeling between furious and concerned, and all because of the young man standing beside you." While Zank was relying on his Imperial Arms to know if he had struck a nerve, Haru could tell that he had just by looking at Akame. She tensed up ever so slightly, and Haru could guess at the reason why.
"Should have mentioned, but that freaky third eye is his Imperial Arms," he said, readying his own sword, "He can read our thoughts, although God only knows if that's its only power. He did lure me here with a very convincing illusion." "Now why would you go and ruin all the fun?" Zank asked, almost sounding like a pouting child. "If it can read minds, then the solution is simple," Akame said, bringing her sword down and closing her eyes. Even if Zank didn't have his Imperial Arms, he would have been able to sense the change in her. "Oh, you've reached a state of nothingness," he admired, lowering his blades slightly, "Impressive, but ultimately useless. I can tell what you're about to do by your muscle tension."
While Haru prayed that the bastard was only bluffing, he was proven wrong in the next instant. Akame leaped at him almost faster than Haru could follow and brought her sword up to stab him through the heart. And he deflected it. Not only that, he managed to counter and put a cut into her left thigh, forcing her back as he grinned over his victory. "Well, that's just great," Haru said, feeling his frustration peak, "You can read our minds and bodies. So now what do we do?" In answer to that question, Akame charged Zank again.
This time they traded several blows, and the ringing of clashing metal spread throughout the courtyard as they both vied for a killing blow. For Akame's Murasame, that would be easy enough. She would only have to scratch him and the battle would be over. However, Zank could read her every thought and was able to block or dodge every attempt flawlessly. When they broke away again, they were both breathing heavily. Screw the pain; it's time to get off the damn bench Haru thought as he readied himself. Much to his good fortune, Zank's fight with Akame had made him face away from where he stood. While he wasn't completely behind the man, he was fairly sure that he would have a few seconds before his Imperial Arms kicked in against him.
Springing at him, Haru brought his sword up as he yelled, "Hey, old man! You forget about someone?" Zank wheeled around and just barely managed to stop Haru from taking his arm off. This was just what Haru had hoped Zank would do. "Akame, now!" he cried as he put more weight behind his sword. While he must have known about Haru's plan the moment he turned his attention back to him, there wasn't anything he could really do. Turning his head, he saw that Akame had taken the que and had charged him again. And this is where Haru nearly, nearly, had his second moment where his mind just stopped working.
Rather than trying to block both swordsmen at once, Zank shifted his weight and sent Haru stumbling past him. With one leg he swept Haru's feet out from under him, and with his other arm he grabbed the back of his cloak and hurled him at Akame, bowling them both over while he gained some distance. They landed in an awkward pile, and it was only due to Akame's quick reflexes that her sword didn't cut Haru as they collided. Picking himself up, he noticed that he was unintentionally straddling her, and he quickly scrambled to get up again as he tried to fight down a blush. Akame seemed oblivious to this and just picked herself up before turning to face Zank again. Instead of taking advantage of their landing, Zank had chosen to remain at a distance, which was puzzling.
"Say, before I forget, I had a question I wanted to ask you, Akame," Zank said, smiling that smile that was really starting to get under Haru's skin, "How do you deal with the voices?" "Voices?" she asked, sounding confused. Haru had to agree with that confusion; he had absolutely no idea what the hell this guy meant. "You know," he said, his grin taking on a disturbing look, "The ones you hear when you get really quiet. The voices of all those you've killed, groaning in hell. They hold a grudge against me, and they want me to join them. I talk to drown them out, but how do you-?" "I don't hear any voices," she said simply as she brought her sword back up again. This didn't appear to be the answer that Zank wanted, and he looked at Haru questioningly. "Sorry, old man," he said, "The only voices I hear are those of the living."
"That's disappointing," he said, shaking his head, "I thought I'd be able to talk about this with someone like you. But it seems I was wrong. So, I guess this is how it will end. How depressing." With that, his Imperial Arms opened again, and Akame suddenly looked utterly surprised. "Kurome?" she asked just above a whisper. Haru had to strain to hear it, although he had no idea what she meant. "Hey, Akame, you alright?" he asked, bringing his own sword up, "Akame? Hey, answer me! Akame!"
"It's no use," Zank said, his smile returning, "She's under the effect of my Illusion Sight. Right now, it's showing her the one she values the most. Even though it's limited to one person, nothing can break the illusion." Turning back to Zank, Haru grit his teeth as he tried to think. From the sound of it, that's probably his trump card. If that's the case, then maybe he can't use its other powers so long as it's active. Bringing his blades up, Zank charged while saying, "No matter how experienced someone is, it's impossible for them to kill the one they care about the most!"
Haru noticed Akame tense next to him, and he saw what Zank clearly didn't. This wasn't someone locking up in helplessness; this was Akame preparing to finish this in one blow. Whoever that eye was showing her, she was prepared to kill them. Haru felt something take control at that point, and it wasn't his conscious mind. Just before Zank got too close, and Akame brought her blade back, he reached out and grabbed her arm. Shoving her back, Haru moved between them and brought his sword down, crying, "Zündung!" Zank barely managed to dodge the wave of flames and looked genuinely surprised that Haru had intervened.
Before he could recover, Haru charged him again, although there wasn't much more he could do now. After two blasts of flame he was starting to feel a little wobbly, while Zank was still in relatively good shape. However, he noticed that his intervention had broken whatever hypnosis Akame had been under. He also noticed that Zank's blades felt differently from before. There was more give to them now, and Haru took full advantage of this as he put all of his strength into his blows. "I can read your mind, monster!" Zank said, trying to mess with him, "You honestly think you can beat me now?"
In response, Haru brought his sword down on his blades as hard as he could. The cracking of the metal was clearly heard by them both, and Zank's expression turned from aggressive confidence to slightly panicked as he finally noticed. "You're finished now, bastard," Haru said as he brought his sword back. "I'm not dying here!" Zank shouted, clearly desperate as he lashed out. As Haru brought his sword up, he said, "Akame!"
His sword broke Zank's left blade, and before he could do anything with his other one Haru moved forward and locked his hand around that wrist. He was about to try and pry Haru off when Akame appeared in front of him. It was over in a second, his throat spewing blood as he fell back. Haru watched as the script signaling the cursed poison slowly spread from the wound. "You shouldn't hear the voices now, Zank," she said as she sheathed her blade. For the first time, Zank looked like he was at peace. "Yes… they've stopped…" he said, "Thank you… Akame…"
After his eyes had closed, Haru walked over and quickly removed the eye from his forehead. It had closed when it sensed that its user had expired, and Haru examined it curiously. At least, he did until he heard people coming towards them. "We need to leave," Akame said, grabbing his arm. He nodded and followed her as they just barely avoided the guards. Thankfully, they hadn't been spotted, so their trip out of the city was easy after that. As they made their way to the meeting point just outside the city to wait for the others, Haru noticed that the sun was starting to rise.
Once they had arrived, Haru tended to his wounds as best as he could while fending Akame off, telling her that he would be just fine. Thankfully none of them were life-threatening, so he could wait till they got back to wrap them properly. From where they sat in the hills, it was actually a very beautiful view. The sun was just starting to crest over the distant hills, and the clouds took on a vibrant collection of oranges and reds.
Deciding to actually enjoy it, Haru reached up and removed his blindfold before scratching the bridge of his nose. The cloth was starting to rub him uncomfortably, so he would need a new one soon. Not too long after he removed it, he noticed that Akame was looking at him again. "What?" he asked, confused. "I've only ever seen you do that once," she said. "Well, I may be able to see through it, but it's nice to remove it once in a while," he said as he lay down on the grass. "Why do you keep it covered around us?" she asked, deciding to push the issue again. "Because I don't like showing people what I've become," he explained, "Zank may have been a bastard, but he was right. I'm a monster, a freaking half-breed. There's nothing more to it."
"I've seen real monsters, Haru," she said, "They fight, kill, rape and steal. They don't care to help anyone else. Is that what you are?" Bringing himself up on one arm, he looked right at her. "Take a good, long look at me, Akame," he said, "Do I seriously look like I'm still human? Can you honestly tell me that you see something besides the eyes of a Danger Beast?" And she did. She took a long, close look at him, examining everything. For some reason she felt something stir inside her, and it wasn't the disgust that he seemed to expect. "I see a man willing to do whatever is necessary to get stronger," she said after a few moments thought, "Someone willing to make sacrifices so others will never have to."
"Well, that's nice to hear, at least," he said, turning away. She could tell that he didn't believe her, and for some reason that struck a nerve. "I mean it, Haru," she said, putting some more authority into her voice. He just turned back and watched the sunrise. Once again, she found that his actions were striking a nerve with her, one that she didn't even know existed but clearly did. Rather than press the issue, she let it drop for now, although she was already planning a way to try to get him over whatever this mindset was.
After almost an hour, the others started to show up. Spotting the first group in the distance, Haru quickly replaced his blindfold before they got too close. He knew that Akame meant well, but she was trying to fix something that couldn't really be fixed. He should know; he had tried once already. Looking up, he saw that it was Leone and Mine that had arrived. "So, I assume that explosion was you?" Leone asked, smiling sweetly. "Well, when all else fails, blow shit up, right?" he replied, smiling back. "Very subtle, matchstick," Mine said as she sat down, "Why don't you just hang a sign that says 'come get me' next time?" "Hey, I always enjoy a challenge," he said, determined not to rise to her bait, "We also got a bonus out of this."
Reaching into his pocket, he showed them Zank's Imperial Arms and proceeded to explain what it did. While Leone seemed impressed that they had beaten a mind-reader, Mine was steadfastly remaining unimpressed. It wasn't much longer before the others arrived, and they all decided to make their way back home before people started going about their day. On the way back, Bulat seemed to remember something and moved to catch up with Haru. "Oh yeah, before I forget, you're up next," he said, slapping his back. "For what?" Haru asked, trying hard not to flinch from the strength of the blow. "The boss wants Tatsumi to get some experience from our resident hell-raiser," he said, "So you get to spend some time with him." "Please don't put it like that," Haru said, trying not to shiver, "Besides, I thought Sheele was training him next." "She was, but the boss changed her mind," Bulat said before moving on ahead. This just left Haru with a headache as they continued on.
The rest of the walk back was uneventful, something which Haru was thankful for. He was already starting to feel the effects of such a close fight, and he could tell that some of his wounds had started to open again from the hike. After they entered the hideout, he asked Tatsumi to find something to occupy himself while he went and rebound his wounds. As he undid the wrapping on the gash in his left bicep, he realized that it would need a few stitches to heal properly. Goddamnit he thought as he grabbed a needle and some thread. Thankfully, Sheele happened to walk by as he sat down and noticed the grimace on his face.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, walking over. "Not really. I just get to sew myself back up," he replied as he gripped the needle between two fingers. After he threaded it, he focused on the tip and heated the needle up before turning to start. "Allow me," Sheele offered, extending a hand for the needle. "You've done this before, right?" he asked. Haru was well aware that Sheele could be quite the air-head at times, and he didn't want someone turning him into a pin-cushion. "Twice, actually," she said, smiling, "It wasn't that hard, really." Figuring she couldn't do much more damage, he handed her the needle before bracing his arm so she could get at it cleanly.
The first part was the worse, since she seemed to hesitate a few times before pulling it all the way through. Haru just grit his teeth as it slid through his skin, trying really hard not to set the entire room on fire. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he heard the snipping of scissors and felt a quick jerk as she tied the string off. "There, all better!" she said, wiping her hands clean on a rag nearby. He was grateful that the wound had already started to close on its own, so there wasn't much blood. "Thank you, Sheele," he said as he grabbed some gauze to wrap the stitches.
"Did you need help on anything else?" she asked, smiling. "Maybe you could answer a question for me," he said, "Can you tell me why Akame is acting so…pushy?" "Pushy? About what?" she asked, looking confused. "For whatever reason, she seems to be dead-set on figuring out why I do…some of the things I do," he replied, "I can't figure out why, and I've never seen her fuss this much over something pointless." "Maybe she doesn't consider it pointless," Sheele said, standing up, "I may not know much, but I do know that when Akame has a strong feeling about something, there's not much that can stop her."
After she left, Haru pondered that for a while. What could possibly be bothering her? It can't be me admitting the truth about myself, can it? Shaking his head, Haru got up and went back down to the main room to collect Tatsumi for his training. Although, he didn't know what he could actually teach the kid. They made their way out to the lake where they had dueled previously while he tried to think of what he could actually teach Tatsumi. "So, Tatsumi, is there anything specific you'd like to learn?" he asked, turning to him. He gave it some serious thought for a while, and this let Haru make a subtle check of his wounds, just to make sure that they weren't going to reopen again.
Finally, he asked, "Can you teach me how to fight Imperial Arms?" This took Haru by surprise, since he hadn't expected him to ask for something so blatantly dangerous. "You realize what you're asking, right?" he asked, just to make sure, "It's not something you can really learn properly without an Imperial Arms of your own." "I thought so," Tatsumi said, looking depressed, "And that's not happening any time soon." "Did you try Zank's?" "Yeah, and it rejected me after about five seconds," Tatsumi told him, trying to smile, "So, let's try something else." Before Tatsumi could give up on the idea completely, Haru drew his sword with a smile. "I hope you remember how to dodge, then," he said, bringing his sword back.
Tatsumi had all of three seconds to leap to the side as Haru threw a wave of fire at him. "Are you trying to kill me?!" he asked, sitting up. "You wanted to learn how to fight Imperial Arms," Haru said, walking forward, "So, your first lesson is to stay on the move. Now back on your feet, newbie!" With that, Haru sent another fireball at Tatsumi. While he still hadn't fully recovered from last night, Haru was keeping his attacks rather small to extend his endurance. It also meant that he could throw his fire much faster than normal, and this helped to keep Tatsumi moving.
"The next thing you need to learn is how to analyze your opponent on the fly," Haru told him, "Since you already know about mine, how about you tell me what you know about the others?" "While you're throwing fire at me?" he asked just before ducking under another fireball. "You think an enemy is going to be kind to you, newbie?" Haru replied, smiling at how Tatsumi glared at him for that, "This won't be a friendly, civil duel. It will be a fight to the death, and no tactic is off-limits. Now, tell me about Leone's Imperial Arms." With an explosive sigh that turned into a yelp as another fireball just barely missed his head, Tatsumi began explaining everything that he knew about the various Imperial Arms used by Night Raid. While Haru was impressed that Tatsumi knew most of the abilities, he was disappointed to find that he didn't know many of the finer details.
Their training continued for another two hours before Haru felt himself starting to seriously weaken. Sheathing his sword, Haru waved Tatsumi over as he turned to head back to the hideout. "Well, you still have a long way to go," he told Tatsumi, "But you've got real promise. Just remember what you learned today." "And what the hell did I learn today?" Tatsumi asked, still a little pissed. "That your mind is your best weapon," he told him, "And you'd better remember to use it, newbie." "Will you stop calling me that?!" "Only when you're not a newbie, newbie," Haru replied, dodging Tatsumi's swipe at his shoulder.
When they arrived back at the hideout, Leone grabbed Tatsumi before they could make it out of the main room, saying that she needed someone to come with her into town for a job. Rather than come to his defense, Haru just smiled and waved as he was dragged off before turning around and collapsing on the nearest couch. He was completely beat. His more intense training sessions aside, he had used more fire in the last few hours than he normally dared. That, on top of the actual physical combat, had quickly left him wanting nothing more than to sleep the rest of the day away. Unfortunately, someone had other ideas.
"What do you think you're doing here, matchstick?" Mine asked, walking up and glaring at him as he rolled onto his side. "Trying to sleep," he replied, trying not to growl, "Did you need something?" "I was just wondering if you were going to leave Akame to cook alone," she said, smiling slightly, "You two seem to work well together." "Me using knives when I can barely keep my eyes open is a bad idea," he replied, turning back over, "And I'm not sure I like what you're implying." "I'm not sure what you mean," she replied, her tone making it clear that she knew all too well what he meant, "I was just saying that you two seem to make a good team."
Deciding to ignore her rather than reply, Haru waited until she had given up and left before rolling onto his back. He quickly passed out after that, and was therefore unaware that Akame had wandered into the room. Noticing him asleep on the couch, she walked over and looked down at him. He looked so peaceful, and she felt that strange something stirring again. She tried to finally nail down whatever this was, but she once again failed to do so. For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt better when Haru was around. His compliments brightened her day, and he always seemed to know how to make her smile.
Bending over, she brushed a few stray strands of hair out of his face as she continued to look at him. What is this feeling she wondered again. She was a professional, for God's sake; used to knowing exactly what she was feeling at any given moment. When he stirred slightly, she came back to her senses and realized how close she was to him. For some reason, she felt her cheeks warm up a bit as she straightened back up. Shaking her head, she tried to clear the blush as she went back into the kitchen. There was lunch to prepare, after all, and she was also getting hungry.
Unknown to her, Mine had seen the entire thing from the doorway, and she smiled slightly as she saw how Akame doted over the matchstick. She had always held him in a kind of reserved awe. It was impressive that Haru was able to wield the power that he did, but she was also aware that he was still far from mastering his Imperial Arms. However, it was nice to see Akame showing human desire for once, other than a craving for meat. As she turned to head back to her room, she made a note to tell Leone about this. The two of them would definitely have to take steps to make sure that those two didn't do something to wreck this budding relationship.
When Haru finally woke up, he yawned and stretched before noticing that it was getting dark outside. He didn't have much time to ponder this as Akame came into the room and leaned down in front of him. "You slept through lunch," she said, looking annoyed, "And dinner." "Yeah, well when you've used as much fire as I have, you'd want to sleep all day, too," he told her as he got up. That was the point when he noticed a letter on the coffee table addressed to him. "When did that arrive?" he asked, sounding excited. If it was what he hoped it to be, then his day was about to get better. "It arrived about an hour ago," Akame told him without looking away, "Are you going to actually eat something?"
"I will later," he said, picking it up, "I'm just going to attend to this first." When her look turned skeptical, Haru felt himself growing nervous. Why the hell does her approval feel like it means a lot to me he wondered. "Look, it's just a simple pick-up job," he said, trying to sound convincing, "I'll be there and back inside an hour, two at most. If you're so worried, then put something aside for me, okay?" She just stared at him for another few moments before nodding and walking away. Haru just breathed a sigh of relief before grabbing his things and heading out. Had he known how things would go, Haru would have seriously considered sitting down to dinner first.