As if they had heard Haru, someone dropped from the Manta as it soared over the Night Raid assassins. When it landed, he saw that it was a man in a white robe and horns holding a large pole weapon. He didn't know what exactly to call it. It had a large stone looking cylinder on the end and looked like it would be rather heavy. However, the new guy didn't seem burdened by it since he was wielding it with one arm. He also didn't seem phased when every remaining enemy charged him at once. At some unseen command, several blades deployed from the head of the staff before beginning to spin, turning it into a big buzz saw. The new guy then used it, along with some impressive strength, to turn the remaining enemies into a bloody mess with a few scattered body parts here and there.
He and Tatsumi were speechless. "Wow," was all Mine managed as she struggled to get back up. Before they could celebrate their apparent victory, the dead bodies began to glow. Haru had all of two seconds to wonder what that was when they suddenly exploded, taking the new guy with them. "What the hell?!" he said, shielding his face from the blast wave. Watching the smoke, he could just make out a figure still standing. "Did he just survive that?" Leone asked as she used Haru as a prop to get back onto her feet.
However, when the smoke cleared they saw that while it was still the same guy, he was now missing one arm and had a large hole through his chest. "How is he still standing?" Tatsumi asked. Hearing his voice, the new guy stood up straighter and looked straight at them, clearly still alive. The hole in his chest then began to close, and a weird mound of flesh sprouted from his stump of an arm before reforming into a new one, complete with a sleeve.
"He's an organism-based Imperial Arms," Haru said in awe as the guy approached them. "He's a what?" Tatsumi asked. Before Haru could explain, the Imperial Arms moved through their group and crouched down in front of Mine. They were all expecting him to try something, still hyped up on adrenaline from the battle. However, he just reached out and smoothed her hair out before nodding and standing back up. "Uh, thanks for the help," Haru began before flinching when he turned to face him.
"Susanoo, enemies on the southeast ridge," Najenda called out from the manta, "Don't let them escape!" "Understood," the new guy responded before picking his weapon back up. He moved faster than any of them expected and leaped back up to the manta as it swept low over their group. Before it could move clear of them, Haru made a dash to get on it as well. There was no way he was going to let them finish this battle without him. "Haru!" Mine called out, lifting a hand up. Without breaking his stride he grabbed her arm and swung her around so she could get a grip on his shoulder with her free hand, since her other hand still held Pumpkin.
As he leaped up into a nearby tree, he noticed that Tatsumi had picked Akame up and was making for the cliffs on foot. While his armor would allow him to get their faster, Haru had a better idea for his own transport. Just as the manta was starting to get higher, Haru jumped while focusing his power down to his feet. This was something he had only ever thought about doing, but had never actually tried. The flames erupted from the souls of his boots, propelling him up and onto the manta's back. Najenda didn't even turn around as they landed near her and Susanoo. Haru also noticed a third hooded person kneeling to one side, but he shook his head and focused on the battle as the manta swept towards the enemy leader.
When they got close enough, Susanoo went to drop from the manta as he had before. But before he could jump Haru was next to him with a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going with you," he said, his look making it clear there was no room for argument. Nodding, Susanoo put an arm around Haru's shoulders before dropping to the ground. With him taking most of the impact, Haru barely felt anything when they landed, although he did feel like his dinner was about to come back up when he saw what they were going to fight. It was a mass of flesh that had a vaguely human torso growing from it and instead of a head, there was a man in the middle of its shoulders.
To make matters worse, he watched as a mouth opened up in the middle of its chest right before it ate what appeared to be one of its allies. "What in the name of everything good is that thing?" Haru asked, drawing its attention as it grew bigger. It became more human in appearance, with one of its arms turning into a mechanical arm while its head took on a human/machine hybrid appearance. He could just make out the man controlling the entire thing on its forehead, though he didn't have long to examine this creature before it attacked. Bringing one of its feet up, it attempted to stomp him and Susanoo into paste.
Haru rolled to one side while Susanoo dashed to the other, both of them managing to get clear before it came crashing down. Turning back to face the foot, Haru brought his sword up in a swing, crying, "Zündung!" The wave of flame crashed into it, but did little real damage. Likewise, when Susanoo leaped up and tried to break one of the creature's forearms, his weapon was stopped cold before he was smacked back to the ground.
At this point, Tatsumi had caught up to them with Akame on his back. "Wow, he's much bigger up close," Tatsumi said. "Really? I didn't notice," Haru replied. Before Tatsumi could fire back a retort, they were both forced to dodge an attempted punch. Said punch left behind a rather impressive crater. "Well, at least this thing can't move too fast," Haru said when he landed, "Anyone got any ideas?" "What's controlling it?" Akame asked. "Based on what I saw before it got big, I think it's Dr. Stylish," Haru replied before realizing they didn't know the name, "Look, it's the guy sitting in its forehead." "How the heck can he make something like this?" Tatsumi asked as he dodged another swipe. "You got me. Now as I was saying; anyone got any bright ideas?" Haru retorted as he threw a charged knife.
Needless to say, it exploded harmlessly on the creature's skin, which just served to frustrate Haru further. It didn't help that he could feel the drug wearing off with each passing moment. "Maybe we should strike for the master, then," Susanoo suggested before pulling Haru out of the way of another attack. "Not a bad idea," he replied, "Akame, think you and Tatsumi can handle that?" She just unsheathed her sword in response.
"Alright then; Susanoo, let's give them some cover!" Haru said as he charged again. They were forced to sidestep another punch, but this time they were able to use the arm as a ramp. Noticing their advance, Stylish tried to swipe them off with his other arm, only to have Susanoo block it with his staff. Continuing up to the creature's shoulder, Tatsumi leaped up at the thing's head just as a number of spiked tendrils shot out at him and Akame. His attempted counter was stopped short temporarily when an energy bolt blew through the creatures head, fired by Mine as the manta swept past them. Mustering as much energy as he could, Haru cried, "Zündung!" again and sent a wave of fire past Tatsumi's left before sending another one to his right.
This served to clear most of the stunned tendrils away as Tatsumi threw Akame at Stylish, sacrificing the last of his momentum to propel her further. Stylish didn't have a chance as she closed on him, and blood sprayed in a fine mist as she slit his throat before flying clear of him. Tatsumi, meanwhile, had landed around the creature's neck and had sprinted to its back before leaping up again and catching Akame as she started to fall. Haru, too weak to do much of anything except smile, resigned himself to a hard landing. Maybe if he could keep the creature's body beneath him, it wouldn't hurt too badly.
This plan was shot to hell when Susanoo grabbed him from behind before leaping off the dead beast as it began to fall. Unable to really resist, Haru just breathed easier while saying, "Thanks, man. I owe you one." Susanoo just remained quiet as he landed before letting Haru stand on his own. Well, he tried to. He got all of two steps before his knees gave out and he collapsed onto his back, panting as he felt the last of the drug leave his system. Garrick wasn't kidding; it really did knock me on my ass he thought with a smile. Susanoo, meanwhile, just looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Haru!" he heard off to the side. Turning his head, he saw Akame and Tatsumi, who was now out of his armor, rushing to his side. "Are you okay?" Tatsumi asked while Akame dropped to her knees next to him. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, "That shot took more out of me then I thought it would. I'm just going to lay here for a bit, okay?" While Tatsumi sighed in relief, Akame reached out and smacked the top of his head. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked as he struggled to sit up. "You shouldn't risk yourself like that," she said simply before standing up and walking away.
Rubbing his head, he just smiled and shook his head. Any further shenanigans were interrupted by the manta's reappearance. This time, it had the rest of Night Raid riding on its back. "Get on," Najenda told them, "We need to leave before anyone else shows up." With Susanoo's help, Haru was able to hobble over to the manta before collapsing in the middle of its back. His plan to nap on their way to a new location was ruined when a new girl leaned over him from behind. Her hair was light red, she looked like she was wearing some kind of earmuffs and had the unmistakable stick end of a sucker sticking out of her mouth.
"Huh, so that's what the Demon Sight looks like," she observed. With a start, Haru remembered that he hadn't had time to grab his blindfold during the battle. Sitting up quickly, he was about to ask Najenda to turn around for it when his forehead smacked right into the new girl's. "Ow! Watch it!" she said, leaning back and rubbing her head. Haru, meanwhile, had collapsed onto his back again, clutching his own head in an attempt to keep his vision from spinning as he groaned in pain.
Watching this whole thing, Akame tried to remain indifferent and failed. She was still worried about him, and despite what she had said she still felt that feeling going strong. It definitely did not help matters that she had learned what this was earlier that night. After she had returned to her room, she had found Leone standing outside her door with her arms crossed and giving Akame a disapproving look. "You know, for all his big talk I would have figured that the matchstick would have better endurance," she said, smiling. "Better endurance at what?" Akame asked, puzzled. "Come on, you don't need to play dumb," Leone replied, her smile growing broader, "So, how was it?" "It?"
Leone looked genuinely stunned at this, and proceeded to face palm so hard that Akame thought she might bruise herself. "That idiot," she mumbled, "Did he say anything? I thought he would at least have to guts to come clean." Suddenly remembering what had happened up on the balcony, Akame felt her cheeks growing a bit warmer. "Come clean about what?" she asked, trying to hide her reaction. But judging from the look Leone got, it didn't work. Grabbing one of Akame's arms, Leone pulled her into the room before closing the door and saying, "Alright, Akame, spill it."
Figuring that Leone was probably the best choice of the girls to talk to, Akame sat down on her bed before telling her about the encounter. If nothing else, she might be able to help her figure out just what was wrong with her, and possibly how to fix it. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Leone," she said finally, "I can't really concentrate when he's around, and it's worse when it's just the two of us." While Leone had listened to this whole thing with the biggest (and possibly evilest) grin imaginable, hearing that Akame didn't know what this was caused her brain to come to a full stop.
"You really don't know what this is?" she asked, just to be clear, "Seriously?" When Akame nodded, Leone face-palmed again. "Just what did they teach you when you were younger?" "They taught us how to kill people," Akame replied promptly, "Methods to control your emotions during a fight and focus on your objective. But, I can't control this emotion, and I've been trying really hard." Clearly, beating around the bush was going to do less good here than it did with Haru.
"You're falling in love, Akame," Leone deadpanned before she stood back and watched the show. It was interesting to watch the emotions play across Akame's face. First, she was surprised, making it clear that she hadn't even remotely considered this. That was quickly followed by embarrassment at this realization, which caused her entire face to turn the color of a tomato. This just caused Leone to burst out laughing as Akame struggled to respond. "I'm… I mean, I can't… love?" she managed, trying to compose herself, "How?"
It took Leone a few moments to collect herself before she could actually answer her, since this was all just too funny. Akame, always the serious and focused one was struggling and out of her depth because of Haru. It was almost enough to cause Leone to start laughing again, almost. "Well, you two seem to get along really well," Leone said, figuring she would have to lay it all out for Akame, "And you spent a lot of time together. And besides, Haru can be really charming in his own way."
"You sound like you're talking from experience," Akame commented, causing Leone to blush. "I-Well, maybe," she mumbled, turning away. This caused Akame to laugh softly, and before long they were both laughing at their own awkwardness. They had spent a fair amount of time talking before Leone had left to go to sleep. It had been interesting to finally talk with someone about this, and it was also strangely liberating.
And now here she was again, around Haru and now fully aware of what she was feeling. While on the outside she appeared to be observing the ground below them as they flew, on the inside Akame was waging a war with this new knowledge. She was trying hard to stand by what she had told Haru. But now that she knew what this was, she was finding it increasingly difficult to deny it. As a result, she was relatively unaware of her surroundings and was surprised when Leone sat down next to her and dropped a hand on her shoulder.
"You alright?" she asked, looking concerned. Akame just nodded, not trusting herself not to say something she would regret. "Why don't you go talk with him?" Leone asked, giving her a knowing smile. "I don't think that's the best idea right now," Akame said, looking back out at the ground. "Why not?" Leone asked, "He clearly feels the same. Besides, you shouldn't pass up a good thing." "Does he?" Akame asked back as she brought her knees up and folded her arms across them, "Or was he just reacting? He doesn't even regard himself as human, Leone. What if he's given up on trying to be human?"
Leone was taken back by that one. Now that she thought about it, it definitely seemed like Haru had been acting different. He always laughed and joked with them, even hanging out with her and Lubbock during their periods of down time. But, now that she remembered some of the comments that he had made off-hand, she realized that Akame had a point; deep down, Haru believed himself to be a monster. She could only imagine what had happened that had caused him to believe that to be true, but it was glaringly obvious in hindsight.
"Then you'll just have to convince him he's wrong," Leone said finally, giving Akame an encouraging slap in the back, "And if you need it, I'll help you." Smiling at Leone, Akame nodded in thanks before looking back out at the ground. It had been gradually changing from rolling trees and fields into foothills before finally becoming tree-topped mountains. Choosing one of the taller ones, Najenda set the manta down on its peak before ordering them all off. As the manta flew back to its nest, Haru took the time to look around the area.
"The Danger Beasts in this area are all regarded as high level," Najenda told them as she lit a cigarette, "So it's relatively unexplored by people. It should serve as a good place to make a temporary base while we try to set up a new headquarters near the capital." "And how exactly are we going to set up a temporary base?" Haru asked, waving his hand at their surroundings. "That's a good question," Najenda replied, smiling, "Susanoo, why not show them how to fix that?"
Without a word, Susanoo walked off into the trees and started to chop them down with lightning speed. Seeing that he was on a mission, the others just spread out and rested. In just under 2 hours, Susanoo had the basic skeleton of a building set up and showed no sign of tiring as he continued on. "That's impressive," Leone said, "I can't believe the Revolutionary Army would give up such a powerful Imperial Arms." "Well, he was inactive until I got there," Najenda told them, "So they didn't have much of a choice in the matter." "So what about her?" Haru asked, pointing at the new girl.
"I have a name, thank you," she said, trying to sound offended, "If you hadn't head-butted me, I might have told you." "Then why not tell me now?" Haru replied, crossing his arms. "I'm not sure I want to. You're being rude." "This is Chelsea," Najenda said, trying to head off any arguments, "She's one of the army's most experienced infiltrator and assassin. In fact, she's completed almost as many jobs as Akame has, including her time serving the Empire." That got Haru's attention as he gave the smiling girl a second look.
"And how exactly did you manage that?" Haru asked, remaining skeptical. "Well, that's a trade secret," she said, smiling and winking, "But if you're nice to me, I might tell you." Snorting, Haru walked off to a rather large tree before sitting down. Off on the other side of the clearing, Akame, Leone and Mine had been talking idly. Seeing Haru off on his own, Leone gave Akame a not so subtle nudge. Looking at them in confusion, Akame just sighed as Mine waved her hand while mouthing "go on."
For a moment, Akame considered ignoring their advice. I need to remain professional. I can't do something that would cause me to hesitate. She kept repeating these words, trying to convince herself that they were true, that she needed to keep her distance to protect them both. It worked up until she glanced over at Haru. He was resting with his back on the tree trunk, his eyes closed and his breaths even. He was either asleep, or trying to sleep, and seeing him looking so peaceful served to wear away her conviction quicker than she would have liked.
Walking over and sitting down next to him, Akame struggled to find something to say. "You doing alright?" Haru asked without opening his eyes, "The poison isn't causing any lingering effects?" "N-no," she said before cursing herself for stammering. Please, please don't notice it she begged as she felt her cheeks growing a bit warmer. Unfortunately, he did. Opening his eyes, Haru turned and looked at her, looking concerned. "Are you sure? You look a little red," he said, moving his hand up to check for a fever. "I'm fine," she replied, stopping his hand, "I'm just…"
Even in his tired state, Haru could guess what it was that was making her act odd. Lowering his hand, he smiled before settling back the way he had been. "I thought you said we can't," he commented, sounding hurt. "I did," Akame replied, feeling horrible for it, "But, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other's company, does it?" moving his hand so it was on top of hers, Haru said, "No, I guess it doesn't." Smiling, Akame leaned her head back on the tree and closed her eyes, enjoying this moment for all it was worth.
The smell of cooking food a few hours later roused the two from their nap. Standing up and stretching, Haru let out a loud, long yawn as he felt a few of his joints pop. Turning around, he helped Akame to her feet before noticing that Susanoo had set up a makeshift kitchen outside. He had already put together a kind of stir fry, and it smelled and looked amazing. "Is there anything you can't do?" Haru asked as he walked over. The Imperial Arms just smiled slightly as he continued to cook. Hearing a grumbling behind him, he saw Akame almost drooling as she smelled the food. He also noticed that Lubbock seemed annoyed by something, always glancing over every few seconds before turning away again and grumbling.
Leaving Akame to pester Susanoo for some samples, he walked over to his friend. "Alright, what's up?" he asked as he turned Lubbock away. "It's just that I've noticed that everyone is getting awfully chummy with the new guy," Lubbock said, his look turning darker, "Even the boss." "Concerned that an Imperial Arms is going to sweep Najenda off her feet?" Haru asked, laughing softly at the look Lubbock gave him. He had learned a while ago about his friend's long-time crush on their boss, and he gave him friendly grief over it from time to time. But the fact that Lubbock was trying to compete with an Imperial Arms, of all things, was almost too funny.
"I don't think you have to worry," Haru told him as he struggled to keep himself from laughing, "Susanoo might be a good guy, but I don't think he has any romantic feelings towards the boss." "Since we're on the subject; what about your own feelings towards a certain assassin?" Lubbock asked, grinning. Haru tried not to react in any way, but he felt his own spirits drop. "I don't think there's anything to worry about there, either," Haru replied, looking away. "Oh? You seal the deal already?" Lubbock asked, his smile growing broader, "Good to know that you've put what I taught you to use."
"No, it's not that," Haru said, "She and I… We agreed that it's best not to start something. It would only get in the way and cause us pain." "Are you freaking kidding?" Lubbock demanded, his voice rising, "She said that, and you agreed?! What the hell have I been teaching you all this time?" "About a dozen different ways to peak on girls bathing?" Haru offered, causing Lubbock to laugh. "Okay, seriously; are you just going to let her go like that?" Lubbock asked after he had collected himself. "It's probably for the best, Lubbock," he replied, "Honestly, who would want to spend their life with someone like me?"
"You're too hard on yourself, Haru," Lubbock said as he walked over to get some food. Haru lingered behind for a few moments, trying to collect himself so he wouldn't trash the good mood that Susanoo's cooking was creating. Judging from the expressions on everyone's faces, it was really good food.
I wish I could go easier on myself Haru thought, feeling that familiar gloom coming back, but it won't change what I am. I don't think anything will. Once again, he found himself thinking about Esdeath and the Jaegers. They had seen him for what he was, and they hadn't been bothered by it in the slightest. Granted, neither had the members of Night Raid, but Esdeath had even gone so far as to confess her love for him despite seeing what he was. And here I thought I'd already made my choice he realized as he walked over, but it's still there, waiting for me.
So where is it that I want to make my home? And with who?