When Haru was within a few meters of the hideout, he felt a slight tug on his boot. Looking down, he had just enough time to register a wire wrapped around his ankle before his leg was pulled back and up. As a result, his forehead smacked into the ground hard enough that he saw stars for a brief second as the snare lifted him up a meter by his leg. He just hung there for a while, gripping his head as he tried to stop his vision from spinning and make his ensuing headache go away.
I can't believe I just walked into that he thought gloomily as he looked around. For the moment, it appeared that no one was around. Looking up at the wire around his foot, he noticed that it looked a lot like one of Lubbock's wires. Of course it would be one of his Haru chastised, they probably thought they were about to get raided again. Thankfully, his knives hadn't come loose during his little…trip. Pulling one of them free, he took a moment to try and trace the wire before throwing it. The knife embedded itself in the tree limb, severing the wire and causing Haru to land on his back, knocking the wind from him.
Sitting up and rubbing his head, Haru had all of three seconds to wonder if there were other traps before someone barreled into him from the front. All he saw was a yellow streak and then he could barely breathe. "Haru, you're safe!" Leone said, hugging him tighter. Finally pulling his head up and out of her chest, he managed, "I won't be for long if you don't let go." While she did let him go and help him up, she was still absolutely ecstatic that he was still in one piece. Taking a deep breath to see if she had actually cracked any ribs this time, he turned to her and asked, "So, what did I miss?"
"Well, after your vanishing act we got to spend yesterday in a cave nearby," she said, crossing her arms and looking irritated. It was kind of a funny look for her, considering she was in her beast form, but at the same time it was also kind of scary. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "If I had known what kind of Imperial Arms I was facing… Well, I might not have been able to do much about it, anyway."
Grabbing his arm, she started to lead him back to the hideout. "Well, you'll get to explain yourself properly once everyone else arrives," she said, smiling again as she changed back, "Although I don't expect Akame will let this one go easily." Flinching at the mention of the girl, he realized that it was a conversation he was definitely not looking forward to. "I don't suppose there's any chance that you could talk to her for me, could you?" he asked, hoping to avoid a lecture.
"You sure that's a good idea?" she replied, smiling mischievously. As thoughts about what she could say crossed his mind, Haru sighed and shook his head. This caused Leone to laugh in triumph as they entered the building and made their way to the main hall. While Leone went and grabbed something to snack on, Haru walked over to one of the padded chairs before dropping into it. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to figure out a way he could explain what had happened without complicating things further. Fat chance of that, smart guy his inner voice commented, causing him to snort in amusement.
As he sat there, Haru started to feel himself drifting off to sleep. However, his potential rest was interrupted when something smacked into his head, causing him to flinch and sit up. Rubbing where he had been hit, he opened his eyes to see Akame standing next to his chair with her hand still held out from the chop she had delivered and looking rather angry with him. "Hey, what's up?" he said, unable to come up with much else. In response, she just glared at him before reaching out and chopping his head again, causing him to flinch and rub his head again. "Hey, what was that for?" he asked before leaning back as she made to hit him again.
"Do you enjoy running off like that?" she asked with barely contained anger. There weren't enough words in any language to describe how worried she had been for him yesterday, or how angry she was with him right now. Part of her knew that he hadn't done it on purpose, but right now she was angry at him, so much so that it was taking all of her self-control not to start using both hands. And it wasn't even really anger with him; she was angry with herself. If she had been with him, she might have been able to prevent this.
Before she could try and hit him again, Haru reached up and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Hey! Enough already, I get it," he said, his voice softening, "I'm alright, okay? So can you ease up on the abuse?" After he had released her arm, she lowered it along with her gaze. "I was worried about you," she said finally, sounding sad, "When Lubbock came back and told us what had happened… That you'd gone off alone right before some stranger showed up… We thought… I…"
Realizing what she was trying to say, he got up and walked around the chair before placing his hands on her shoulders. "I came back, didn't I?" he said, trying to cheer her up, "And I promise that I always will. This is my home now, after all." "This isn't even the same building," she protested, feeling tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "The place doesn't matter," he replied, smiling, "It's the people that make it a home." Without another word, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
While she was surprised at the hug, it wasn't unwelcome. She reached out and embraced him in return, finally allowing herself to enjoy his presence. Leone, meanwhile, watched this all unfold from the doorway, smiling happily at the two. Before it could progress any further, Lubbock and Tatsumi burst into the room, Causing Haru to flinch and step back quickly. They pretended not to notice, too happy to see their friend back in one piece to tease him at the moment. The rest of Night Raid joined them shortly, but before anyone could really start asking him questions, Najenda stepped forward. "Haru, I need to speak with you," she said, motioning him aside, "In private."
Nodding, since he had expected something like this to happen, he followed her to a side room before sitting down at one of the tables. "Alright, from the beginning; what happened?" she asked, crossing her arms. He explained everything that he had gone through, from encountering Esdeath to getting transported to the island to getting back again. Najenda seemed especially interested in hearing about the new Imperial Arms. "You're sure you heard the name right?" she asked, just to make sure. "It was kind of hard to miss," Haru replied, "He didn't seem too concerned about keeping it hidden from us. Although that could be because it can only be activated by calling its name, I'm not really sure. Do you know of it?"
"No, I'm no," she said as she sat down, "I'll ask headquarters to try and find out more about this weapon. It doesn't bode well that so many powerful Imperial Arms are gathering together now." "Well, we haven't exactly made the 'people' running this nation feel comfortable and safe, now have we?" Haru asked her, smiling. She returned his grin before leaning back. "Now then, I take it you returning to us means that you've made your decision?" she asked, her smirk growing broader as he flinched. He had hoped that she would just accept it and move on. Clearly not the case he thought, sighing.
"I'm committed to this cause," he said, "I'm going to help change this nation, and I can't do that if I allow myself to become Esdeath's…pet. As much as she may care for me, it won't change who she is." Najenda nodded in agreement. She had reached the same conclusion over her former comrade a long time ago. But Haru was still a kind soul at heart, and it must have been difficult to admit there was nothing he could do for her. "And what of your other attachment to this place?" she asked, seeing right through his indifference act, "We both know that there was more drawing you back here than your commitment to the cause, as noble as it is. Did you tell her?"
"To be honest, I didn't have much time to say anything before everyone started showing up," he replied, grimacing, "Besides, she was right; if we tried to become something more, it would only cause us more problems in the long run." Sighing, Najenda stood up and smacked his head, hard, with her metal hand. "Take my advice, Haru," she said, leaning down so she was in his face, "You've already passed that point, both of you have. So man up and freaking tell her." Ignoring his look of utter shock, she turned and left the room. She knew a bit about people avoiding the issue because they thought it was easier. She was still waiting to see when Lubbock would swallow whatever stubbornness was stopping him from acting.
Why do I keep getting hit he wondered as he rubbed his head. Shaking his head to clear it, Haru left the room and made for the kitchen. Despite what he and Esdeath had managed to gather on the island, he still found that he was rather hungry. However, the second he entered the room he was stopped in his tracks as he saw Akame on the other end of the room. She had her hair tied back in a long pony tail and had an apron tied around her waist, and for some reason he was suddenly struck with how beautiful she was. For a brief moment he was gripped with the urge to come clean now; to walk over and tell her how he felt. Turning on his heel quickly and silently, Haru left the room before those thoughts could take full form.
Heading up a few flights of stairs, he found himself at his new room. Dropping his cloak and weapons on a nearby chair, he walked over and laid down on his bed before he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head. Damn fool he cursed himself, you need to get a hold of yourself. You can't start a relationship now, not with what's coming. Before he could actually fall asleep, a fluttering sound coming from his window grabbed his attention.
He sat up just as a small bird, a swallow, flew through the window. The bird did a slow circle around the room before landing on the bed next to Haru. Looking down at it in surprise, Haru reached out to stroke its neck when it disappeared in a puff of smoke. In its place sat a smirking Chelsea, causing Haru to jump and scoot back a little. "Damnit, don't do that!" he said after he had recovered. "Only when it's not any fun anymore," she replied, her smile growing broader, "You look troubled. Something wrong?"
"Nothing I care to talk about," he said, turning away. "Yeah, I can tell," Chelsea said, huffing, "So how about listening?" Turning to her and quirking an eyebrow in confusion, Haru waited for the red-head to go one. "What do you think about…Tatsumi?" she asked, looking down and twiddling her thumbs. Haru was at a loss for words; the question was so out of the blue that he had no idea how to respond. Then he actually started to pay attention and saw the slight color on her cheeks. "Ah… that's what this is," he said, understanding, "What did the moron do?"
This just caused her to turn a few shades darker, but she relented and explained his attempted prank two days ago in the bath house. While Haru was surprised at how well she had handled it, without resorting to dismemberment, he was even more stunned by what he heard next. "I can't really explain it; there's just something about the way he acts and talks," she said, looking up wistfully, "I just feel…warm inside, especially when we trained together and he praised me for my talents."
"Well, I could say that it's just his personality," Haru replied, "He may still be a little green and naïve, but in his heart he's a good person, through and through." Looking at her in confusion, he continued, "Can I ask why you came to me with this? Surely one of the other girls would have been a better choice." "While Tatsumi makes me feel… that, I feel comfortable around you, Haru," she said, turning to him and smiling, "You remind me a lot of my big brother." "You have a brother?" "I did," she said, looking sad, "He died a year ago to some sickness while I was away."
Looking down, Haru mumbled, "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose family." "I picked up bits and pieces from everyone here that you've been through some bad times," she said, sympathizing, "If you need to talk, I'm always available." "Thanks," he said, smiling as she stood up and left. Lying back down, he soon drifted off into a light nap, pleasant thoughts drifting through his head.
About two hours later, he was down in the main room with everyone else. Najenda had a map lying on the table before them showing the current state of the Empire. It also showed the various strongholds and cities around the capital, as well as the territory currently under the Revolution's control. "The time for the Revolution is nearly at hand," she began, looking at her gathered fighters and smiling, "It's been a long time coming, but now we are almost prepared to make our move." "You know, I've been thinking about this for a while," Haru said, looking at the map and the disposition of the various forces, "But how exactly are we going to take on the capital with what we have available?"
"What, you don't think we can do it?" Lubbock challenged, smiling. "Oh, I know that we'd all give it our best shot," Haru replied, smiling darkly, "I'm pretty sure I'd take a battalion or two with me. But my point is that for all of our skill, they outnumber us by almost 10 to 1." "That's true, but that's also why we're going to succeed," Najenda said, smiling as she started placing several more markers are various points, "The capital is only used to putting down local rebellions; groups that are working alone and with limited resources."
Pointing to a city in the east, she continued, "There's a religious group that's centered here called the Path of Peace, and they've gained a large following in the eastern territories. Once we're ready to move, they will cause an armed revolt throughout their area of influence. At the same time, we're going to have an allied tribe in the west launch an all-out assault on the various fortresses in that region. The clincher will be when our own forces launch their attack from the south."
"A three-point attack, huh?" Tatsumi said, examining the new deployments carefully, "But even with all of that, there will still be a lot of casualties." "We've accounted for that," Najenda said, tapping several key strongholds, "We've made arrangements with various viceroys and garrison commanders to surrender their keeps and defect to our side. These are men that have been demoted for taking their jobs seriously, so they had no problem agreeing to this. Our forces will advance with a speed they've never seen."
"Even with all of this, the capital's Commander-in-Chief, Budou, and his personal forces will still intercept us once we reach the capital itself," she continued, placing a rather imposing piece on the center of the map, "However, this will also cause them to draw men from the palace guard, leaving it with a relatively light defense. This will provide us with the perfect opportunity to infiltrate it and kill Onest." "At which point, we win!" Tatsumi exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. Haru just snorted, causing Tatsumi to look at him in surprise and annoyance. "What?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.
"Even if we kill Onest, that won't be enough to truly secure victory," Haru said, unfolding his arms and pointing at the piece representing Budou, "People like this Budou aren't going to just roll over and surrender once the Prime Minister is dead. They're going to have to be dealt with, either before we kill Onest or immediately after. If they're allowed to slip away, they will just slowly build up their own revolt." While he was talking about Budou, those that knew Haru knew that he was talking about Esdeath. Najenda just grimaced as she watched him, seeing the conflict in his eyes that he was struggling not to show. He knew several of the people they would have to eliminate, and while he knew that it had to be done, he was far from happy about it.
"That brings us to our first real problem," Najenda said, pointing back to the eastern territories, "It's come to our attention that the advisory to Path of Peace's leader is actually a spy sent by the Minister. His name is Borick, and he seeks to undermine the leader's authority and replace him, thus preventing their revolt. This isn't something we can allow. There is also the issue of the Jaegers. They are still led by Esdeath, which makes them a part of the Minister's private forces. Weakening or eliminating them before the revolt would be ideal, so we've come up with a plan to lure them away from the capital and divide them."
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Haru asked, skeptical. "They came after me during a job yesterday," Chelsea told him, smiling slightly, "They weren't in time to stop me, or catch me in the act, but it was clear that they had inside information." "All of the new Danger Beasts have been eliminated," Najenda summarized as she pulled out a cigarette, "And all of the other disruptive groups have either been wiped out or gone into hiding. That leaves us as their primary focus. They're not going to ignore an opportunity to come after us."
Taking a long pull from her cigarette, Najenda prepared herself for Haru's reaction to what she was about to say next. "Headquarters has requested that we eliminate Bols and Kurome specifically," she said, looking straight at Haru, "So they will be our priority. Gather what you need, we're going to move out tomorrow morning." Seeing that he wasn't going to protest, she left the room. Once she had left, Haru braced his hands on the table and tried to gain control of his mind again. They want me to kill Bols and Akame's sister he thought, trying to come to grips with the thought.
He hadn't interacted with the big man very much when he was with them, but what he had seen and heard led him to believe he was a kind soul. And as for Kurome; she was Akame's sister. To even think about killing a blood relative to someone he cared for was going too far. As he struggled with these thoughts, everyone filed out of the room to make their preparations, except for Akame. She could tell that he was torn, and could only imagine what he thought about being ordered to kill her sister. For her part, she had made peace with this outcome a long time ago, knowing that it would happen sooner or later.
While she wanted to comfort him, to tell him that she would take care of it so he did not have to, she couldn't bring herself to move. Meanwhile, a thought suddenly occurred to Haru, one that would bring him some measure of peace in all of this. "I have an errand to run," he said, getting up and walking away quickly, "I won't be long." "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, moving to catch up with him. "No," he replied, "It's better if I do this alone. I'll be back in a few hours."
Grabbing his cloak and blindfold, he made his way out of the hideout and to the capital. After sneaking in through one of the side gates, he paused in an alleyway to make sure that his blindfold was secure before continuing on. It was strange to be using his blind beggar disguise again after spending so much time with his face uncovered, but he couldn't risk word getting back to Esdeath that he had been here. After a quick trip to Garrick's clinic and a rather heated discussion, he left with the old man's word that he would honor Haru's newest request. It was then a matter of finding his way to one of the upper districts without drawing too much attention.
It took him asking indirect questions for almost an hour before he found himself at the house he was searching for. And now that he stood on its front walkway he found that he was reluctant to approach the door, much less actually knock on it. Oh, man up, Haru he chided himself as he started forward, if you don't do this, you will agonize over this choice for the rest of your damned life. Knocking on the door, Haru prayed that only the wife and daughter would be there. If he had to explain himself to Bols, then things would get complicated quickly.
Much to his relief, it was his wife that answered the door. She was a lovely woman, with long, light brown hair and purple eyes, and Haru could understand why Bols had been so stricken with her. While she looked confused as to why there was a blind man at her door, she smiled warmly as she said, "Is there something I can help you with?" "Yes, there is," Haru replied, trying to keep his voice level, "I need to talk with you about your husband. May I come in? It would be better if this wasn't discussed outdoors."
She nodded and stepped aside, opening the door further to allow him in. While he felt bad about this deception, he went through with it anyway as he walked inside. He waited until she had closed the door before turning to her and asking, "Is your daughter here?" "Yes, she is," she replied defensively, her look hardening slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound threatening," Haru said, trying to ease her worries, "It's just I have questions about Bols, and I need both of your answers." "What is this about?" she asked.
Moving to one side, he gestured towards the living room while saying, "Please, this will go easier if you cooperate." To prove his point, he pulled his cloak aside to reveal his throwing knives. That got her attention, and for a moment he thought she was about to call for help. "I promise you, I don't intend to harm you or your daughter," he said again as he walked ahead of her, "Now, please sit down."
Before she could try to respond or resist, her daughter walked into the room. "Mommy, was that Daddy coming home?" she asked before noticing Haru, "Who is this?" Like her mother, she was a beautiful little girl; she had short, blonde hair and blue eyes as well as one of the sweetest smiles he had ever seen. Kneeling down, he smiled warmly at her and said, "Hello, my name is Haru. I know we haven't met before, but I've heard about you from your father." "You know Daddy?" she asked, her face lighting up. "I sure do," he replied, "And he seems like a really nice guy." "He's the best Daddy in the world," she replied with a large smile before frowning and looking at him closer, "Why's your face wrapped up, mister Haru?"
Reaching up to touch the blindfold, he said, "I got in a bad fight a while back. I can still see just fine, but some people find my scars…disturbing. I'd rather not make people uncomfortable." "You sound just like my husband," the older woman answered as she walked over to her daughter, "Always insisting that he wear that silly mask." As she picked her daughter up, she looked at him again with obvious suspicion. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?" she asked again.
Sitting down on one of the couches, he motioned that they take the chair before saying, "I will in a moment. First, I thought it would be best that we introduce ourselves properly. I know your relation to Bols, but I don't know your names." "I am Michaele," she responded, "And this is our daughter, Tamera." Smiling as Tamera waved at him, Haru prepared himself for their reaction. "My name is Haru, and I used to work with your husband," he said, "But now, I've found myself under the employment of a group that has taken an…interest in him." "What kind of group?" Michaele asked. "Night Raid," Haru answered plainly.