There's huge trees all around us. A forest for all intents and purposes. There's so many trees around us I'm not going to bother counting just how many there are. Big and green, their blooms remind me of mushrooms. They're like ancient structures that have stood for innumerable centuries. They were a testament to time itself. The Danger Beasts that flooded this area and called it home, kept any wanderers, or those with ambitions out of it. Not many could survive against some Danger Beasts, so they'd sooner avoid this area than step into it. which is better for us. In the long run, this would provide us with lots of training. Training I'm much more accustomed to than sparring and kata. The air was much thinner here as well, which would add a level to our training that couldn't be found anywhere else.
Boss Lady knew how to pick her spots that's for sure. I can't help but admire her choice eye for details. Always laying low, but now I can understand why she took so many precautions like this. It provides us with freedom and security that would almost be impossible to find anywhere else. For all intents and purposes we are wandering assassins that shouldn't get too comfortable at one location. The second we get comfortable is the second we're having to relocate to a much more secluded location.
I stay close to Boss Lady and don't say much. Tatsumi is the complete opposite, and for once I'm thankful for his sociability. We both got away from the Empire and I have a Teigu on top of it. Well, I had drank from that gourd. It had been calling to me, putting tremors through my body, promising a power that goes beyond victory and defeat. It promised a more primordial power, something I had discovered in Gifnora surviving for so long. When one terror made itself known, another which was slumbering went right after it, as was the natural order in that hell.
Thankfully, we didn't trek into that hell. I don't know what had been possessing Esdeath to go in there. There was no victory or defeat in there. Only survival. It seemed like she just wanted to go on the hunt...Or it was a way to get rid of Tatsumi and I before we gave her any real trouble. Together we were problematic most definitely, and some like Wave, wouldn't be afraid to voice that opinion. It's the only two things that made any sense. In any case I spared so many from a miserable fate going in there.
That includes Esdeath.
There's two new people with us. I'm thinking when Boss Lady took the Teigu back, she got some reinforcements. Thankfully. Being around the Jeagers, Onest, and that bloodthirsty brat showed me many things. In that short time being there, it had always been a contest of who can spill more blood. Who can wreak more havoc. There was no focus on ruling fairly or justly, there weren't high ideals like those in the West and the Revolutionary Army, it was all bloodshed. There were pawns like Wave and Seiryu who'd always follow orders and the will of things in the given era, so even if he didn't like it. Wave wouldn't do anything to stop it. Seiryu has been raised up in the Empire since her youth, so it's already an open and shut case with her. There were those like Run and Tetsu, always with ulterior motives to weaken the Empire or slow it down. Then there's Kurome who only wanted to kill Akame.
It was a stacked deck against Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army. All of them wield Teigu, all of them thirst for blood. It was a battle of ideals as much as it was with us fulfilling our duties. We couldn't let ourselves fall so low as the Jeagers, even if we are assassins, there still has to be a lofty ideal that we're all chasing after. That's why I'm grateful for Tatsumi, because through all of this, he's always holding to a higher ideal, even if he is an assassin.
Now considering that there's only two that means they have Teigu as well. Good. It'd be to our benefit to have two more Teigu on our side. Including me that makes three Teigu. The Jeagers may thirst for blood, but we have true power on our side. Something they'll find out soon enough. While I'm not sure about these two newcomers, I do keep my gaze trained on them. Taking in every detail.
The first is a young woman. She is short, has pale skin, auburn light red hair, and red-pink eyes. She wore a butterfly headphone accessory on her head. She wore vocalist-like clothing consisting of a white, long-sleeve shirt with the collar tied with a red ribbon under a black vest, a red, checkered miniskirt, and black leather below-the-knee boots. She carried her Teigu at her side, a cosmetic case of some type, with three tier levels consisting of what looked like powder, gloss, lipstick, and a bunch of other things I don't care to remember. That's more up Mein's alley anyways. She carries this cosmetic case with her, wherever she goes, and it looks so benign.
She was sucking on a lollipop, just looking at me, the whole group, the surroundings, and the sky.
I wonder what that Teigu could do as much as what mine could do. There were no details given to me about that gourd, my whole being had reacted to those Teigu in that room, throttled by the ferocious power of that gourd. I had tipped it and drank, drank until I felt bloated, like I was going to hurl, despite that feeling, I stomached all of it and passed out. Burning from the inside out I had screamed so loud my vocal cords felt fried afterwards. Perhaps her forte is disguise?
The next was a man that had apricot skin, blue hair and blue eyes. He was very tall as the woman was short. This guy is even taller than me by a good bit, and appeared to be in his early 20s. His most notable features were the two bison-like horns protruding out of the sides of his head. He was wearing a white, red and black robe.
Looks can be deceiving, especially when it came to Teigu users. That's why I'm more than relieved that Tatsumi had to deal with Wave, giving me the opening I needed to escape from the Capital itself. It had been no easy task and the only reason I got away, was because for some reason Esdeath had a fixation on Tatsumi in comparison to me, who she wanted as a husband and equal in all ways possible. Perhaps she just enjoyed the hunt and it was all game to her. I can recall a girl with blue eyes I was supposed to marry as a union between northern villages. If this woman had been that demure girl, what exactly was going on to make her that way.
Unless she was always that way even that far back.
Wave is a loud mouth ignorant fool, but he had a Teigu, and a damn strong one at that. There's no way he'd be a part of Esdeath's squad if he wasn't capable. What his Teigu is I'm not even sure, but it has to pack a punch. Tatsumi was gasping for air as he explained his story, how Akame sliced this danger beast to pieces before it could take him, how he and Wave fought, how their Teigu correlate with each other, with one being the prototype. All of this makes me glad I tried to get that prize money for the tournament.
If I hadn't done that I'd never be in possession of a Teigu. I wouldn't have been able to deal a blow to the Empire and smack them right across the face with the Teigu they gave me.
Whoever these two are must be just as adapt at killing as we are in no uncertain terms. The amount of missions we take are many, and the body count adds up quick. For every good person there's three more twisted, sadistic murderers, and those are the ones we have to take out. So that good people can live their lives and not be a part of the blood letting. Something Esdeath and the others could never understand when it comes down to it. No sense in trying to convince them either. There's no way Boss Lady would let anyone join up with us that wasn't up to par with what we have to do. It'd only lead to their demise and leave us short members. We can't afford to lose any more members since we all use Teigu, and I've got to make sure I do my part to ensure there's not anyone lost in Night Raid. I know two members are no longer with us. One passed his Teigu onto Tatsumi, the other one didn't get a chance to pass on their Teigu.
I can't let that happen again-Night Raid will always hand down Teigu-I'd have to make sure it is this way.
I push that aside and focus on the present.
"This is where our new base will be." Boss lady says.
That's good and all, but there was a hot bed of nothing right here at the moment. All around is just trees and danger beasts, and while I can appreciate the fact nobody will be bothering us, human at least, that still left the danger beasts native to the area. We needed a shelter and fast, Boss Lady is so confident as she speaks about this being a good change of scenery that I almost forget this glaring fact.
Boss Lady walks beside the tall man and gives us a serious look. "Susanoo will take care of it."
Before anybody can make a response he has a house built and is cooking a five course meal, there's building, and steam, and everything smells so good. I can barely comprehend the speed in which the house was built, let alone the finesse in which the food is being made, all at the same time, watched over by this man, and it hits me...
"He's my new Teigu." Boss Lady looks proud.
"There's no house here." Tatsumi points out.
"He can do that. He can cook, clean, build-"
"Are you going somewhere with this?" Mein asks, looking over the tall man. "Sounds like he does chores."
"He obeys my every command." Boss Lady says with a smirk.
"He's a Teigu?" I ask for clarification.
Boss Lady nods. "Yes."
"That guy is cooking an eight course meal." Lubbs complains, though his mouth is watering as Susanoo starts cooking and building a house.
Remarkably he's doing this at the same time.
"He just built a house." Tatsumi whispers in awe.
"He's Susanoo. And this is Chelsea-" Boss Lady motions towards an empty space.
I notice Akame is getting uncomfortable with Chelsea running her fingers through her hair. It's an amusing thing to see in my opinion. For all of her mushy behavior at times, Akame was awkward when she had to be the one enduring such behavior. Chelsea was glaringly intruding on her personal space, which is something Akame had always respected.
"You have the most beautiful hair."
"Thanks. Why are touching it?" Akame asks awkwardly.
"Here's a lolipop. Let's be friends."
"Welcome to the team." Akame says with little shame.
"Alright these are our two new recruits." Boss Lady affirms, nodding her head proudly.
"She just convinced Akame."
"She must be really hungry." Lubbs tells Tatsumi.
"Break it down."
"Gladly. Chelsea here has as much kills as Akame. Don't let her looks fool you."
That catches me by surprise briefly. It's only brief since killers don't have a face. Killers don't have to be like me, muscular and swinging around a sword, they don't have to be like Leone who is buxom. Why I was thinking she didn't have more kills than Akame just because she sucks on a lollipop, I'm not sure. Maybe because I'm just relaxed. Despite everything that happened everyone was relieved that Tatsumi and I were both back and they were happy I got a Teigu out of the whole thing.
"What's with the tall guy?" Lubbs asks, walking towards Boss Lady and by some extension towards me, I've been staying close to Boss Lady just because her presence is calm and cool.
"He's a Teigu. When I was taking the Teigu we've retrieved back, he happened to activate in my presence." Boss Lady says matter of factly.
"That's our Boss." Akame says with pride.
So we're moving forward and progressing just as we need to. Boss Lady mentioned a battle she had to fight against Stylish as well, which made her relocate to this location now. Either way it's a win for us. One Jeager is done away with and we get a new spot. Whatever might the Empire had, just got that much more diminished with this loss.
I knew the Jeagers weren't going to last. They were too divided, too different. It isn't like Night Raid. We're all distinct, and while we serve the Revoltuionary Army, we are individuals. People hate us and love us at the same time, and I can't even blame them. Half of them were afraid, the other half was like Wave and Kurome-at some point they'd need to break away or they'd fall-in the name of advancement like everyone has suffered from the Empire.
I wouldn't hold my breath on it, though.
"Susanoo is originally a Teigu created for escorting important people. Along with battle ability, he;s fully equipped to do various household chores so he can be of use around the clock. Cleaning, laundry, whatever it may be. The repertoire he can cook numbers into the thousands!" Boss Lady explains further, a shining smirk on her face as she gleams confidence.
"That has nothing to do with battle!" Mein exclaims.
"No, no! This is incredibly useful." Boss Lady retorts. "He has a trump card for battle as well."
"Yeah." Susanoo agrees.
I glance at Tatsumi and note the confident look on his face. The lazy smirk that is stretched across his face almost catches me by surprise. He's enjoying this maybe a little too much, but he's always been more sociable than I am. Our two new recruits look like they can hold their own respectively. Mein is being teased by Chelsea and now and Lubbs is giving Susanoo a hard time. It's only natural that it be this way. That's the true strength of Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army.
"Let's not forget about you. You drank from that gourd like you were telling us." Leone points out, latching onto my arm. "Let's make some memories."
I smile at her, truly amused. "Sounds good."
"I want to rub out the memory of that sadist." Leone tells me with her grin.
Tatsumi may be concerned about our teamwork, but that's just in his nature. I don't have those same concerns as him, and I know that Night Raid will always be Night Raid. So, when it came time for it, we'd always be on the same page. Teamwork would come seamlessly and we'd all fulfill our duties so the Revolutionary Army can continue to gather their strength. I learned from firsthand experience that when push comes to shove, Night Raid will cut it all down and leave bodies.
It's what we do.
Perhaps with these new reinforcements, things even out as they should.
Boss Lady is smart like that.