I am sorry, everyone. This is taking way to long. My original plan was to finish the fishing plot within two chapters, but details after details just kept getting in the way. I promise to finish this small story plot in the next chapter.
Also, I am so bad at writing relationship scenes…
Still, I want to thank you for all of your support.
Chapter 30 That Small Desire
Pacing with her usual calmness, the shirtless Akame approaches the duo with pure impassiveness on her face. Each step she takes is measured with accuracy, showing rigidness in whatever she is planning to do.
"What, what, what… are you doing?!" Blushing deeply without any containment, Tatsumi unintentionally stumbles back to a piece of rock, but consequently trips and falls onto the muddy ground.
Seeming ignoring the naïve boy, the reactionless maiden continues her undisturbed progress, and finally stops in front of Hei and Lubbock.
"Woa… woah…" Dropping his jaw from its regular position, Lubbock is completely caught unguarded with Akame's sudden appearance. Even though she is still a teenager, certain parts of her body that are adequate to show her femininity are directly revealing her natural bodily beauty.
"Lubbock, if you are even thinking about anything dirty, I will rip out your eyeballs myself!" Yelling at the mindless boy, Mine lets out a disgusted glance at his current reaction.
Hei, however, is completely concentrating on his observation of the river's patterns. Is he aware of what is going on? Well, yes and no. Of course, the Black Reaper's senses allow him to gather information of his environment easily, so he had known that Akame took off her clothes before Tatsumi's idiotic shout. Yet, the lack of emotion prevents him from understanding what is so special about such action. To him, the only usage of clothing are disguise in blending and protection in conflicts. He does not care for what Akame's attire, as long as she is not hostile. Obviously, she is not.
When Akame stops beside Hei's position, the masked man is not even looking at her.
What is Akame thinking right now? As the deadliest assassin in Night Raid, she has her own unorthodox way to approach things in life. There are many things to which she holds importance, and among them are friends, the revolution, Murasame, her sister, and food. This constitutes to her strange method of catching fish. Perhaps it is enthusiasm that makes her five into the river personally, perhaps it is self-discipline that makes her train herself by swimming against the fish, but one thing is certain – she takes this action very, very seriously.
But something is different today.
Watching the Black Reaper from the distance, Akame must admit that she has been eyeing the man non-stop since their first encounter at the warehouse. Deliberately or not, something about this person is attracting to her.
"Is it the way he executes his actions?" Seeing Hei's merciless execution in the warehouse and hearing his uncompromising tactics in the Elder Basin, she feels as if she is seeing herself in this mysterious man sometimes. Who is he? Where does he come from? Why didn't he launch a surprise attack to escape on that fateful night? Why did he say she was "not an enemy"? An unexpected desire gradually grows within the young assassin's heart – she wants to see his eyes. Something in her mind is convincing her that his eyes will answer all of her questions. Just one glance.
Maybe, just maybe.
This is what gave her the strength to approach this man.
…
Standing by the Black Reaper quietly, Akame tilts her head to her left side, attempting to glance through the pale mask. Hei is still looking at the river in front of him, seemingly unaware of Akame's intentions. Carefully raising her hand to his chest level, she pauses upon her actions.
Time is slowing down at the moment. She can feel something inside her is urging herself to complete this action. The masked man is still not looking at her, unwilling to give away any hints to aid her actions or not. Her hand is only a few inches away from his mask, and a small mixture of fear and excitement is already overwhelming her mind…
Until she feels an obstacle between her index finger and that white mask.
Glancing at her hand, Akame finds her index finger stopped by a smooth black glove – Hei has raised his hand at the last second to prevent his mask from being taken away.
Ultimately turning his head to the young maiden, Hei observes the latter carefully behind his mask. He has made it clear to everyone that the mask stays on, and it will stay on. Disapproving her actions with his left hand, Hei gently guides Akame's fingers back to her side.
Blinking a few times, a dash of disappointment rushes through those crimson eyes.
"Maybe it is not the time yet."
Concluding her failed attempt, Akame turns to the river again – she has work to do.
"Aww, how cute. Our little Akame is interested in someone!" A certain blonde's sudden comment lastly breaks the morning silence. Leone jumps between the two, while her eyes are filled with mischievousness.
"No, she's not! How can Akame be interested in that bastard?" Mine angrily protests against Leone's argument, while her expression contains a large portion of shock.
"Hey, watch it! Who are you calling bastard?" Acting as Hei's number-one defender, Tatsumi automatically disregards everything that just happened, and enthusiastically indulges himself into the classic argument with the pinkette.
"Why, Hei, why? How can you just neglect a beautiful girl's compassionate touch when she is only in her underwear?" Of course, Lubbock.
"Ah, it's so good to be young." Shaking his head at his fellow assassins, Bulat lets out a deep sigh at the humorous scene.
"We can start now." Unaffected by the awkward statements around him, Hei's monotone again dominates the small group. His intention is clear – he has work to do.
"Fine, fine, whatever…" uncomfortably fixing his fishing net, Lubbock unwillingly takes his mind back to the competition he proposed earlier.
Noticing the circumstances around her, Akame turns her head to contemplate Hei once again, trying one last time to understand the mask before signifying a small nod to the Black Reaper.
For some unknown reason, Hei also advances to reply with a small nod.
And then, Akame dives into the river.
Let the hunt begin.