Looking at Akame, Haru tried to come to some other conclusion about what she had said besides the obvious. "She wants to end this?" he repeated, searching her face for some sign that this was a lie. Without saying a word, Akame just turned and continued towards the markets. During their entire trip collecting the supplies Garrick would need she ignored his attempts to question her. She knew this was coming, had known for a few days now. With the Empire on its last leg, Kurome would be feeling anxious. She would want to finish their business before the final confrontation, regardless of the cost.
And Akame agreed with that sentiment. This was something she had been putting off for far too long. If she was ever going to have a life with Haru, she would need to settle things here and now. And so, instead of telling him it would be alright, instead of lying to the man she loved, she decided to remain silent. She knew he wouldn't understand her desire, not this time, and she didn't want him to suffer needlessly. This was her burden, and she would bear it.
As they were heading back, Haru's patients finally gave out. Taking one of her arms, he steered them into an alley so they would at least have some privacy. "Akame, talk to me, please," he said, taking her shoulders and looking her in the eye, "Tell me you're not going through with this." "I can't," she replied, looking back at him, "I betrayed her, Haru. I turned my back and left her behind. Now, I have to pay for that." "Like hell you do!" he said, "Akame, she's your sister. There has to be another way." "I'm sorry, but there isn't," she said, bringing a hand up to his cheek, "This is something that I have to do."
"Then I'm coming with you," he said, his mind made up. "No, you can't," she told him, her gaze turning stern, "This isn't something… It's going to be a fight to the death, Haru. I don't want you to see that. Not between us." "But I-" "Haru, please," she begged, stepping closer, "I have to do this, and I have to do it alone. Please, try to understand."
He could tell that she was determined to see this through, and that nothing he said would change her mind. Hanging his head in apparent defeat, Haru started to lay plans to try to stop this. He couldn't just sit back and allow her to kill her only family left, just like he couldn't do nothing if her life was on the line. He still remembered his interactions with Kurome, still remembered that he had instantly liked her. And if it comes down to a choice between one of them that inner pessimist asked, annoying Haru once again.
If it comes to that, my decision is already made he replied as they walked back, his hand entwined with hers. If it came to it, then he would be the one to finish things, not her. She may end up hating him for it, but he wasn't about to let her scar her very soul over a decision she had made a long time ago. He would die himself before he allowed that to happen.
They returned to the clinic and dropped the supplies off before collecting Mine and heading back to their hideout. Rather than let her walk, Tatsumi instead had her on his back with his hands under her knees. While Mine seemed embarrassed about being carried by her crush, she didn't protest outright. Haru sincerely hoped that they had said what they needed to earlier, since he got the feeling that they might not get another chance in the next few days. People were already starting to get rowdy, with more than a few groups starting to square off with local guard patrols.
After returning to the bookstore, Haru made it a point to go and check on Najenda. While she probably didn't have any romantic feelings for Susanoo, he had been her Imperial Arms and a good friend. He wanted to make sure that their leader was okay, especially after the day he had just had. Walking down the hall to her room, Haru was surprised to find Lubbock standing outside her door with his back to him. "Hey, what's up?" Haru said, getting Lubbock's attention, "Something wrong with the boss?" "No," he replied as he turned back to the door, "It's just… I've been standing out here for almost 10 minutes trying to work up the courage to face her, and I keep falling short."
"Alright, Lubbock, I want you to listen to me closely," Haru said, draping an arm around his shoulder, "Someone's going to have to make the first move, and it's not going to be her. Najenda is a patient woman, and if you play the waiting game it's just going to end badly." Looking at Haru in shock, Lubbock broke out laughing about a second later. "This is just too much," he managed between fits, "You're giving me romantic advice. Oh man, I think I'm about to bust a lung."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, lettuce top," Haru replied, stepping back, "Once you're done having your fun, man up and talk with her." Patting his shoulder, Haru decided to leave Lubbock to it. He knew that his friend wasn't a coward, despite his actions in battle. He was just cautious with his life and didn't like taking unnecessary risks. But Haru had meant what he had said; one of them had to make the first move, and he would be damned if it was when one of them was at death's door.
Returning to his room, Haru shed his cloak and boots before dropping back-first onto the bed. Letting out a long sign of content, he closed his eyes. He was still feeling the exhaustion from his battle with Budou, which was further compounded by his frustration over Akame's actions. He desperately didn't want her to carry through with this crazy plan. He had seen Kurome in action, and if she had even half of her puppets left she would be a formidable enemy.
After what felt like minutes, Haru felt the bed dip and a warm presence next to him. Without opening his eyes, Haru moved his arm underneath Akame before pulling her closer. "If this is Chelsea in disguise," he said, smiling slightly, "Then I'm going to be pretty ticked." "If this was Chelsea in disguise," Akame replied, smiling and putting an arm around his chest, "Then I'd be very jealous." His smile just grew broader at her response, and he placed his other hand over the one she had around him.
"You know, I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of this," he said after a while. Rather than reply, Akame just pulled herself closer before heaving a content sigh. After a while, they fell asleep like that, just the two of them in a comforting embrace. A few hours later, however, a figure got up from the bed slowly so they wouldn't disturb the other sleeping figure. Moving slowly and carefully, Akame went to where she had placed Murasame before slipping out of the room. I'm sorry she thought as she closed the door softly behind her.
Thankfully, everyone was asleep by this point, so she wouldn't have to explain why she was heading out so late at night. Grabbing one of their spare cloaks, she threw it around her shoulders before heading up to the main floor and out through the back of the bookstore. Another thing that played in her favor was the general unrest throughout the lower districts. With so many people finally realizing the truth, the guards were hard-pressed to maintain order on every street. As such, she was able to make it to one of the smaller gates and slip out of the city rather easily.
Now that she was outside, she could make her way to the meeting point at a more reasonable pace. However, this also gave her plenty of time to think about what she was doing. She was going to kill her sister, and in spite of the brave front she showed Haru the other day she still felt conflicted over the decision. She knew that she had to do it, that Kurome would be a serious threat if left alive. She also knew that if anyone was going to kill her, than it should be her. It should be the sister that ran away, that failed to save her when she had the chance, that left her to be used and abused by the Empire for all those years.
As she walked into the clearing around an old, run-down church, Akame heard distant thunder and looked up. Clouds were gathering over her head, and she could tell that it would rain soon. Walking up to the door, she opened the one that remained on its hinges and stepped inside. The interior had fared little better than the outside of the building, but she saw a familiar figure sitting in one of the pews. Getting up and turning to her, Akame found herself face-to-face with Kurome again.
"Hello, sister," she said, smiling, "I'm glad you could make it." Picking up her bag of snacks from where it sat next to her, she offered it to Akame while saying, "Would you like one?" Glancing at the bag, Akame felt the impulse to accept one of the cookies. But she knew what they likely contained, and that knowledge was enough for her to shake her head. "I'd better not," she replied, removing her cloak and draping it over one of the pews, "I doubt it would agree with me now." "That's a pity," Kurome said before lowering the bag.
Turning and looking around the inside of the church, Kurome continued, "In the past, long before all of this, we were reunited in this place. And this was also the place where you betrayed us and joined the rebels. I can't think of a more fitting place to finish this. It's almost ironic, considering how often you used to protect me." Her voice sounded almost whimsical, as if she thought those times were just a figment of someone's imagination.
Akame knew where this was heading, but she couldn't resist reliving old memories one last time. "As children without any other family, we didn't belong anywhere else but here," she said, smiling softly, "We were raised as assassins for the Empire, sent to kill those that had wronged it to uphold 'order.' And after being trained and raised in two different divisions, we were finally reunited here after so long. It was one of the happiest moments of my life when I saw you again."
"It was almost like we were reliving our childhood. We became the best. There were times when the jobs became dangerous, and we lost many good comrades, but we always completed our assignments," Kurome said, looking down, "But then, you betrayed us and joined Night Raid. You turned your back on everything we had ever known, on all of the friends we lost along the way. For a while, I couldn't understand why. Why did you leave us? Why did you leave me? I was so miserable for so long." "Will killing me bring you peace, Kurome?" Akame asked, tightening her grip on Murasame, "Is that what you want?"
"I already know it won't bring me any peace," she replied, turning to her and bringing her own scabbard up, "I want to be the one to do it, because then Yatsufusa will bring us together again." As if to prove her point, she drew her sword as two figures materialized behind her. Even though they were her only remaining puppets from her prized collection, Kurome knew that Doya and Natala would allow her to overpower her sister in time. And on the off chance that they weren't, she still held a small army of regular fighters in reserve.
Drawing her own sword, Akame took a moment to size up her opponents. She knew that Natala would be a dangerous opponent, regardless of his current condition. The gun-wielder would also be serious trouble for her as she remembered that she was a former assassin. If their last battle with Kurome had taught her anything, it was that even though these were just puppets made from corpses, they still retained their experience and skill. She also knew from the last battle that their nature as puppets made them immune to Murasame's poison. Before she could even begin to come up with a plan, Natala charged her with his spear while Doya moved to flank her. The battle had begun.
Meanwhile, Haru was slowly making his way through the forest. He shouldn't have allowed Akame to get so far ahead of him. Hell, while he was thinking about that; he shouldn't have let her leave the damned room. He had heard her closing the door behind her when she had left, and part of him had wanted to stop her before she even made it out of the hideout. But he had seen the determination in her eyes, even if he had also seen the uncertainty. So, rather than stop her he had decided to follow at a discrete distance. That could be considered his first mistake.
His second was allowing her to get further ahead of him when they got to the forest. He had been nervous that he would make too much noise once they entered it, so he had waited a few moments to give her some more space. And now he was paying for that decision as he prayed he was still moving in the proper direction. She had been going in a straight line for almost the entire time he reasoned, trying to sound sure, of course, if she made a turn at any point, I'm screwed. He didn't relish the thought of wandering around blindly for the rest of the night if that was the case.
But then there was the question of just what the hell he intended to do once he got there. How did he intend to talk down two women determined to kill each other? He was pretty sure that if he ended up having to put himself between them, it would at least stop Akame. He wasn't so sure if it would stop Kurome, however. Then there was the question of Kurome's puppets; if she still had any from her collection left then it would get dicey no matter what he tried. That also meant that Akame would be hard-pressed to actually beat Kurome, since her puppets weren't technically alive. Damnit, I have to hurry he thought, breaking into a jog.
Thankfully, their battle didn't say quiet for long. Hearing a crash and roar off to his left, he assumed that it had to be them. Changing course, Haru put on all of the speed he could, praying that they would still be breathing when he got there. As he burst through the brush into the clearing, he saw the remains of a building, the two sisters and one massive Danger Beast. Judging from the shackles on its limbs and the helmet, it had been held captive for some kind of experimentation, and it clearly wasn't too pleased with its treatment.
Grabbing his sword hilt, Haru briefly wondered where Kurome's puppets were before the two sisters went into action. Kurome jumped up and dashed up the thing's arm, slashing at one of the pipes on the helmet. It gave a bellowing roar and tried to swat her away as the pipe spewed some kind of gas. Apparently, this was something that was actually required for the beast's restraints. Now lacking whatever that pipe had been supplying, the mask split down the middle before falling away. This revealed a grotesque face, and Haru felt himself shudder.
The beast didn't last long, however, since Akame had gone into action the second the mask started to split. Before the creature even knew what was coming, she had swiped her blade across its throat and created a geyser of blood. The poison moved quickly, and soon the creature fell back onto the remains of the building with a loud crash. Breathing easier, Haru started to move forward when he heard a distinct thunder crack over his head. This seemed to be the signal the clouds had been waiting for, since a few seconds later it began to rain. It wasn't incredibly heavy, but enough that Haru would have some trouble providing proper support.
But then he saw a streak moving from the trees opposite him, making a bee-line straight for Akame. Acting on instinct, he drew his sword and dashed forward, using his flames to further boost his speed. He slammed into the figure with almost a foot to spare between his back and Akame's sword, and he realized that it was Wave who had come to Kurome's aid. He was in his armor, and even though his helmet was on Haru could imagine his surprise. "Haru? What are you doing here?" Akame asked, stunned that he had followed her.
Forcing Wave back, he took up a defensive stance as he watched Wave summon his spear. "Wave, don't interfere!" Kurome cried, pointing her sword at him, "This is my fight!" "What was I supposed to do, just sit back and let you get killed?" he replied without turning around, "I'm not going to abandon you, Kurome. Not now or ever." "Wave…" "So, Haru, it seems we get to finish things after all," Wave said, leveling his spear, "I can't say I'm happy about this, but I'm not letting you hurt Kurome."
"That's something we can both agree on," Haru replied, lowering his sword and relaxing his stance. "Haru, what are you doing?!" Akame demanded, stepping up to his side and taking his arm. "I didn't come here to fight," he said without breaking eye contact with Wave, "It's like I told Bols. I've seen enough families torn apart by the Empire. I refuse to add to it." "You know how this has to end, Haru," Akame told him, trying to convince him, "This is something that I have to do. That we have to do."
"She's right, Haru," Kurome said, stepping in front of Wave, "This needs to happen, for both our sakes." "Kurome, please…" Wave begged, looking at her. Even through the armor, Haru could feel his pain. Placing a hand on his chest, Kurome looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you for coming, Wave," she said, tears dusting her eyes, "I wish… I wish we could have been closer under different circumstances."
Turning from him, she took another step forward and brought her sword up. "Step aside, Haru," she commanded. Taking a breath to steady himself, he took a firm grasp on Akame's arm and moved her behind him. "No," he said simply as he stood his ground. "I don't want to kill you, Haru," she said, glaring at him, "But I will if I have to. Now, move." "Haru, please…" Akame begged, trying to pull him aside. It was at this point that he noticed something he should have a long time ago. It was probably due to the fact that he was still tired, but there was only one real reason he could think of for her apparent desperation. "So, that's what this is," he said, realization dawning on him, "This is your Last Request, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Wave asked, confused. "You're dying," Haru said. Now that he looked closer, he saw the much subtler signs of a disease that he was very familiar with. Wave's head turned to look at Kurome with such force that Haru imagined he could hear his cartilage pop. "I don't know what you mean," Kurome said, feigning ignorance, "I feel fine." "Has she been weak the last few days, Wave?" Haru asked without breaking eye contact, "How about losing hair, or the occasional bought of coughing that brings up blood?" "H-how could you know that?" Wave asked, stunned.
"I don't know why I didn't see this sooner," Haru said, stepping forward, "I guess you would have contracted it recently, since that's the only explanation." Looking to Wave, he explained, "My home was on rather dangerous territory, so we became familiar with a number of diseases that the people in the interior never even heard of. This particular one is something we simply called the Rot. It's waterborne and is usually the result of certain Danger Beasts bleeding into the water supply." Turning his gaze back to Kurome, he could tell that one of her weak spells was coming by the shaking in her legs.
"How…how do you know…?" she asked, her eyes starting to lose focus. "My mother and younger brother caught it a long time ago," he replied, sheathing his sword, "It took them the better part of a month, and a lot of support from the rest of us, to fight it off." That still didn't explain why it appeared to be hitting her so hard. As if to prove that point, her legs suddenly gave way and she fell. Wave was quick, however, and he put his hands under her arms before lowering her to the ground gently. "Kurome, you can't keep this up," he said as he allowed his armor to fade away, "You're too sick. Please, stop this…"
"I-I can't…" she replied, trying to push herself back up, "I have to… end things now…before I…" Looking at Akame, Haru saw shock and pity. Kurome was more desperate than she had thought, and part of her wanted to comfort her just as Wave did. Instead, she remained where she stood with her sword still held at her side. "You said that part of your training involved drugs, didn't you?" he asked, a realization finally dawning on him. When she nodded, he just heaved a sigh before walking over and kneeling before Kurome. "That would explain it," he said, "Whatever they have you hooked on probably screwed your body up to the point where you were vulnerable to this." "What do we do?" Wave asked.
When Haru looked in Wave's eyes, he saw more than just a concerned comrade; Wave may not have been aware of it, but there was the spark of love in his gaze. He cared deeply for Kurome, and the realization that he was powerless against this threat was tearing him apart. Haru felt bad for him, felt bad for them both. Neither of them deserved this suffering. Taking a few moments to carefully weigh his options, Haru glanced back at Kurome and saw that her eyes still hadn't regained their focus. He had a fairly good idea how much pain she was experiencing right then, and it was entirely likely that she was going to pass out at any moment.
"Kurome, I need you to listen to me very carefully," he said, reaching out and cupping her chin before tilting her head so they locked eyes, "I may be able to help you, but it could cost you dearly. In fact, it may end up killing you." "How could you even suggest that?" Wave demanded, putting a hand around Kurome protectively. "Because at this stage, most people would die in the next few hours," Haru replied, "Regardless of their strength or skill. At this point I'm not sure she'd live even if we got her to a doctor. If there was ever a time for a crazy risk, it's now."
"Do it…" she managed, her eyes clearing up slightly. "Are you sure?" he asked, just to be clear. "I don't…" she began, tears returning to her eyes, "I don't want to…die yet… Please, Haru. It hurts so much…please." It was at this point that he heard a barely stifled sob behind him, and he knew that Akame's determination to kill her had finally broken. "I need you to step back, Wave," he said, looking at the other man. Glancing at Kurome, he hesitated as he tried to come up with any other options.
Hanging his head in defeat, he gave Kurome's shoulder a squeeze before standing up and stepping away. Taking Kurome's head in both of his hands, Haru closed his eyes and focused everything he had. He would need ever shred of willpower to keep what he intended to do under control, and as he was preparing the sound of the rain faded into nothing. Likewise, Kurome could sense the growing power, and she felt herself surrendering to it. It was like an incredible heat, but it wasn't destructive; it was comforting.
From where they stood, Wave and Akame could practically feel the power that Haru was beginning to channel, and it made Wave nervous. "What's he going to do?" he asked softly, afraid he would disturb him. "I don't know," Akame replied in the same tone, "I've never seen him try any kind of healing with his power." No, that's not true she thought, remembering the battle with the Demon's Core, it may not have been healing, but he did burn away the energy possessing him.
As if to prove her right, Haru's hands began to glow softly. "Verbrennen," he whispered, causing the glow to grow stronger. In fact, both of their bodies we now giving off a soft light as well as heat to the point where the rain was causing small puffs of mist to drift up from their bodies. It was almost like they were standing near a fire, and Wave was visibly nervous about the implications. If Haru wasn't able to maintain perfect control, Kurome would be burned up in an instant. He desperately wanted to help, to do something to lessen the risk to Kurome. But there was nothing they could do, and they both knew it. Either Haru would burn this sickness out of Kurome, or he would take the burden of ending her suffering.