Thanks for the positive feedback in the previous chapter! Really appreciate it!

Chapter 2: Those Warm Eyes

Akame stirred.

There was pain. There was so much pain. It wasn't searing agonizing pain, but there was a dull, pervasive ache that gripped every fiber of her being. She gasped for breath, her lungs and chest groaning against a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. She willed her arms and legs to move, but they remained motionless. What happened? Did something happen bad? Why did everything hurt? Why couldn't she move?

Slowly, body sensation returned to her little by little. Her fingers twitched, her toes curled, she consciously breathed in and breathed out. The heavy weight on her chest gradually lightened. She felt her body lying down on something soft and comfortable, but the air felt weirdly colder than normal. But something soft covered her body too, and it felt warm and offered some warmth. And she smelt the scent of burning wood crackling and warming her some distance away.

But why was it cold? Wasn't it summer this time of year?

Her ears perked. A wooden door squeaked open and then came a pair of strong, heavy footsteps thumping against wood.

"She still isn't awake." came a deep male voice. It sounded worried, and there was a twinge of worry underneath it. "It's been two weeks now."

'Two weeks?'

Another pair of footsteps came in, but it was lighter.

"Don't worry." came a female voice. "She's alive and healing. Most people in her situation would be dead by now."

'Dead?!'

A shiver rippled down her spine.

Akame froze as she felt the touch of a hand gently pressing on her forehead. "At least she isn't running a fever anymore." The male voice spoke. "Can you go and grab me some tea and a sandwich, Sayo? You can sleep afterwards. I'll take care of her tonight."

"My Emperor?"

Sayo sounded surprised, but Akame focused on one word.

'Emperor?'

Akame's mind whirled with questions. Why would Sayo address the male voice as Emperor? The Empire was ruled by a child Emperor puppeted by a corrupt Prime Minister. And the male voice was certainly not a child. Nothing made sense.

"My Emperor. I'm not against you caring for her, but you spent the whole day cutting trees and killing Danger Beasts in the forests. With all due respect, I think you should rest."

"Don't worry about me, Sayo. I can push through the exhaustion. I'm more concerned about her well-being than mine."

Silence enveloped the room for a few brief moments.

"... as you will, my Emperor. I'll get the tea and a sandwich. I'll bring you leftovers from dinner and some soup too."

"Thank you, Sayo."

Light footsteps thumped against the wooden floor, until they gradually faded into silence.

As a wooden door thudded shut, many thoughts swirled through Akame's mind. Why was it cold? Emperor? What was even happening?

There was only one way to find out. With a grunt, she forced her eyes to open.

Blinking away her foggy vision, the world slowly came into focus. She was lying on a soft bed, with her body covered by a blanket that warmed her from the coldness in the air. Thick grayed stone walls surrounded her, but a fireplace and filled with burning firewood lit up the otherwise dim room. There was a window close to the left of her bed, and the moon and the stars shone high up in the night. It was cozy.

Akame blinked. 'Where am I…?'

"... you're awake?"

Groggily, with her head resting on a pillow, she slowly turned her head and faced a man focusing on her. He was young. Maybe around a year older than her, around eighteen years old. His features were soft, and his green eyes were full of warmth. His lips curved upwards in the shape of a small graceful smile.

"Oh thank God," the man sighed. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up."

Akame stared at him, unanswering.

The man's smile gradually disappeared at her continued silence. His brow raised upwards and he seemed to gleam her with a critical eye. He tilted his head to the side.

"Let me guess. You're not used to receiving this level of kindness right, Akame?"

Akame froze. Her breath hitched. Her eyes widened, and her body tensed.

"... how do you know my name?"

Her left hand moved to her waist and froze when nothing was strapped to it.

'Shit, where's my blade!?'

"Your face was on the wanted posters in the cities and villages I visited so it was easy to put two and two together. To be honest, I'm surprised that I would run into an Assassin like you-"

The man then blinked.

"Okay, maybe letting you know that I know you're an assassin is a horrible way to start a conversation."

'Fuck!'

Akame didn't respond. Her eyes darted across the room. A cabinet. A door. A burning piece of firewood. A tea set out of reach. Shit! There were no weapons to improvise with!

Her fists clenched. Her heart pounded hard. Beads of sweat formed on her face. She suppressed a flinch as her muscles groaned. If she could somehow pry open the window to her left, she could escape-

"Calm down." The man spoke softly, raised his hands up, and took a few steps back. "I'm not here to hurt you."

Akame snapped to the man's direction and bore holes into his head. The man stared back, frowning.

"I'm sorry."

Akame paused. 'Huh?'

The man softened. "I shouldn't have scared you like that. I know you're distrustful of me, but I promise you that I'm not going to do anything to you. You're an Assassin. You should have a good grasp of a person's mannerisms to tell if he or she is lying or not. Use your experiences to tell if I'm telling the truth or not."

Akame furrowed her brows at him. '... what?'

This was weird. One moment she was not so subtly threatening him and the next he was apologizing?

She narrowed her gaze at him. The man kept his arms in the air. He kept his body relaxed and not tense. There was no sword, knife, or weapon strapped to his body or near him. Instead, his eyes pulsed with warmth for her.

It was strange. So strange. Here he was with an Assassin that stood on a literal hill of bodies. One who could choke a man to death as naturally as she breathed. He should be afraid for all intents and purposes, but instead he was showing compassion. And years of facing and killing corrupt nobles told her there were no ill intentions behind that smile. Only genuine honesty and compassion.

"... you're lying."

The man shook his head.

"I know you're paranoid and not trusting of others. But I did save you from the soldiers, remember?"

Injured, running in a forest, collapsing in a forest clearing, soldiers surrounding her, about to die, someone stepping him to save her.

Realization hit her like a truck.

"You saved me." She muttered.

The man smiled, slowly lowering his hands.

"Underneath your blanket are a bunch of bandages covering your body. Don't move. Your right leg is casted and you were lying on a puddle of your own blood when I found you."

Akame's eyes widened, then her gaze lowered to the blanket covering her

Slowly, she pulled away her blanket and her features twisted at the sight. Numerous bandages, a few soiled with blood, covered her arms and legs. Her right leg was thickly covered with layers of white bandages. Her abdomen was much better, but her skin was colored light red.

"My stomach," Akame swallowed. "There was a knife in it. Where is it?"

"I healed it, remember? Remember the blue circuit things from before?"

Silence.

"... I do."

He wasn't lying.

This man was not a threat. There were so many opportunities he could have taken to kill her, but he didn't. He could kill her while she was knocked out, or abandon her to die that night, or even just enslave and force her to do who knows what. Instead, she lied on a comfortable bed under the house of a stranger who cared for her.

Akame's heart slowed, her lungs stopped heaving, and her clenched fists loosened.

"Thank you for helping me…"

She tore her gaze away from the man and looked to the floor.

"... and… and I'm sorry for threatening you."

"No offense taken and all is forgiven. I should be apologizing to you since I scared you a while ago."

The man smiled sheepishly, a hand rubbing the back of his head.

This man's compassion and understanding… it was unheard of.

Warm eyes, kind smile. A heart that was forgiving that was overwhelming. He was different. He was something else in this dark world of cruelty she lived in.

Taking a deep breath, a question escaped her mouth before she knew it.

"... who are you ? And why are you helping an Assassin like me?"

The man replied without hesitation.

"I'm Arthur Pendragon. Some Knight who wants to be an Emperor. And as to why I'm helping you…"

His smile radiated like the stars.

"Is it wrong to help others?"

Sorry if the chapter is a bit short. Originally, I planned to make it longer but I think its appropriate to end the chapter this way.

Anyways, thanks again for the positive support you have shown. Very encouraging especially since I'm just starting out. I also read a few reviews and I want to respond to some of them.

1. This story will have Akame and Arthur as the final couple at the end of the story. There won't be any harems because I'm not comfortable with them.

2. Will the Nasuverse Knights of the Round show up? Not sure, but I'm playing around with the idea. Will Night Raid become Knights of Round? Sounds appealing, but I'm leaning towards a hard 'no' on this one. I already have some plans with them once we get to the 'Tales of the Holy Crusade' Arc later down the line, but I might change my mind as the story progresses.

And to everyone who favorite, followed, and reviewed, thank you so much! Please continue to do so. Your support will be appreciated and encourages me to keep on writing!