Kill the Hearts

by Akito the Boxer

Commission: Waking up in a new world, Sora finds his memories failing him, blurring as his final act of kindness catches up with him with a heavy price to pay. Against irredeemable, unapologetic evil, there's always a need to fight darkness, for even in the shadows the light he emanates can open the path to a better future.

2. Chapter 2

I OWN NOTHING

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-Night Raid's mountainside headquarters-

"Let me get this straight," said the eyepatch-wearing woman with the green mechanical right arm. Her disbelief was palpable as her singular blue eye looked into his, and she'd have grown a pair or more white hairs if that wasn't her natural color, "You woke up occupying the body of this Tatsumi kid after his heart succumbed to darkness, which possibly happened by being attacked by these creatures we are bumping into our every assassination mission which you call the Heartless, these dark beings are a manifestation of the darkness in hearts, and your weapon is the one thing which all of them fear and which can keep them out of invading worlds apart from ours, and you come from such a world… That's all I care about noting down, by the way."

"I wish it could be explained in an even shorter version, but yes…" Sora admitted, rubbing the back of his head as he sat at a table opposite of the busty woman in the green suit. Thankfully, his body and heart had finally aligned and Tatsumi's teenage hormones were making it easier to look her in the eye rather than down to the breasts threatening to spill out, "Sorry if it's a head-scratcher, uh, Miss Najenda, but Heartless have been used for conspiracies which I barely keep a track of."

"Hold it, don't even mention that," the woman grumbled, ruffling her short hair which gave her, along her black suit, a rather mannish look. It was thanks to her hourglass figure, feminine face, and heavy assets that he could tell she was a woman at first glance… though recalling an incident with a certain young woman pretending to be a man in heavy armor brought an inner sigh which the tall lady in charge of Night Raid paid no mind to, "You're talented with that big key in dispatching every single one of those monsters, that's good enough for me."

"A few things to keep in mind," he looked at her apologetically, wincing as he could tell from her grimace that his lengthy explanation of his adventures did a toll on her. "They may be like beasts, but Heartless usually follow orders from either a leader Heartless or a person, usually the latter, and always the one with the most darkness in their heart."

"Well, you came here like a much-needed counterbalance to that," Najenda stated and pulled out a dark cigarette which she lit up to take her mind off the thick layers of exposition she dug through just to gain an idea which suited her. "Just as you've seen with that Aria girl, plenty of nobles and soldiers of the empire are using and abusing these monsters, and we are trying to get to the ones at the top of the food chain. However, that's easier said and done against a limitless supply of dark creatures popping out by the thousands. Even our best have trouble with such numbers."

"Other than hitting them with magic and strong willpower, it's best to fight them as a team," the boy told her, then beamed. "I always have my friends to back me up with them. We are like a trio of half-pints, more than making up for each other!"

Recalling a certain angry duck squawking at his hairbrained ideas of charging forth and the joyful laughter of a friendly dog, Sora was hit with nostalgia and realization, "You… wish to see them, I gather." Najenda stated as she blew smoke toward the ceiling, "Unfortunately, I can't let you go. Not when you're our one chance to end this war against the darkness in this world."

"Yeah… I can't blame you for saying that, but-"

"Should you wish to see them, we can try and aid you," Najenda started, then looked at Akame. "As you may notice, our… world…" it felt weird to say that, knowing there were more worlds out there hidden by a wall and all the madness in them. Shaking her head, she continued, "Has what we call Imperial Relics. They are made with remains of powerful Danger Beasts giving us access to great powers. One of them could even open portals to other worlds… if handled correctly."

"Great, then I-" Sora exclaimed, ready for business.

"Unfortunately for you, it's in the hands of the empire, and whoever has it must be as twisted if not far more than Aria," Najenda… actually felt guilty. She planned on breaking to him how cruel her world was, but to see his genuine smile crumble made her feel as if she had kicked a kitten, "And if you help us, we can try and see how to get you back."

"Thanks," and seeing that joy return to him made her dread working with such an optimist.

Najenda kept her mind clear as she issued her first order, "Business first, Sora. You being the rookie means you will have to work with us to deal with the shadiest and most dangerous monsters which lie in this kingdom, not to mention getting to know your fellow assassins. Can you handle knowing you will have to fight and kill other humans?"

"Does working as a pirate count as experience?" Sora asked, then scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I, uh, can't really put it in better words, but I've had my experiences fighting a lot of guys who would never take no for an answer…"

Flashing before his eyes, he could see such monsters who had abandoned their humanity and given in to pure darkness. A hunter obsessed with making trophies out of innocent animals, a vizier drunk on power with endless greed, an envious sea witch who coveted the rightful power of a proud king, a gluttonous yet tricky sack of bugs who would have devoured a pure soul for fun, a wrathful pirate whose grudge endured centuries, a resentful lord of the dead, and the proud witch leading all of them. They were villains whom Sora slayed and faced more than once, and weren't the first nor last faces he'd have to put an end to. One such case was a general who would fight to make a nation crumble despite seeing his army buried in snow, damned pirates who knew no end or limit to their ambitions, and all forms of people who had been tempted by evil.

Suffice to say, his eyes having such innocence surprised the leader of Night Raid, "You're one scary kid." Najenda pondered on what she saw, the determination to fight and yet the humanity of a kid who knew what his actions entailed yet accepted them for the sake of others, "And a good fighter."

"Considering what I saw with Aria, it seems your world has plenty of people like her from what you tell me," Sora grimaced at the idea. "I normally deal with one like that in every world I visit…"

"You sure had a lot of adventures," Najenda felt her mind spin at the idea. Clutching her head, the white-haired woman tried to keep control over the situation, "At least that saves us the problem. I expect you to not dwell nor hesitate on killing a target when asked. For now, you better get going and get to know the others. On that note…" she looked off to the side and nodded to the girl who had been patiently watching and waiting for her cue to leave, "Akame, take care of him."

"Roger," the stoic girl nodded. "Over here."

Sora quickly grabbed the short broadsword that belonged to Tatsumi and slung it on his back before following the girl deeper into the base. Akame was not one to mince words, let alone do much talking or exposition about herself. The girl was terrifyingly direct and often detrimentally to the point when talking to anyone. It was why he was shocked to know she was an assassin and that his best bet to get answers was to fight alongside her morally dubious organization. Not to say he was a stranger to such things, having fought in a pirate ship against undead pirates and soldiers of a corrupt government, calling for all cannons to be fired against the man whose avarice knew no bounds and watching the ship and said government official sink… On that note, maybe he would fit right in much better than anyone would give him credit for.

"Yo, Akame, is this the new face? Quite a cutie, isn't he?"

Looking at the one who walked up to them in the hall, Sora tilted his head. Before him was a young, curvaceous woman with short blonde hair that had two long tufts framing the sides of her head and golden eyes. She wore a revealing outfit with a black tube top, detachable sleeves with what looked like gold bands, pants, boots and a scarf around her neck. Lucky for him, whatever his current body had when dealing with pretty girls was gone and replaced with his own heart and mind's common reaction to greeting a new face even if it was a mermaid with a seashell bra.

"Hi, name's Sora," he jovially greeted her with a wave.

"Leone's the name, and breaking bones is my game," the woman punched her fist into her palm for emphasis as her body morphed. "And this is my Relic, Lionel!"

A longer mane of hair sprouted as she gained feline ears like a lioness' along with a matching set of tail and furry claws on her hands. Emphasizing her change, she threw her arms to the side to show off her bust and get a laugh out of the typical reaction most boys would have with her display…

"Cool!"

…okay, that was a first, "Huh?" the confused Leone blinked as Akame remained static next to the boy who examined her, "Are you… truly from another world?"

"I am… I guess," Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Like, this body is from this world, but my heart and… Ugh, my head hurts thinking about it."

Finding her chance to tease him, Leone pulled Sora into a hug which had his face on her bosom, "Let big sis make it better, then."

"Oh, thanks!" and with that jovial, innocent grin Sora cemented himself as a terrifying boy.

"Wha…" Leone backed away, looking at him, then her chest, and back at the now confused Sora. "Hey, don't you have any questions or… you know, any comments to make?"

"Just what that Relic thing is," Sora answered bluntly.

Nearly falling on her rear, Leone gaped, 'This kid's too pure for this world! I thought I'd get a hoot out of teasing a fresh-faced virgin in front of Akame, but he's for real! What kind of guy can look at all this and still remain straight-faced?! No, wait, is he tricking me or…'

Akame finally spoke up, "Big sis Leone may not look like it, but she's a veteran. You'd do well listening to her even if she seems a bit much."

"Got it," Sora beamed with a thumb up.

"Before I forget, don't let her gamble nor be anywhere near booze if you want to get things done," the stoic girl added while the lioness looked between her and Sora in shock.

"I'll keep that in mind," the boy said sheepishly as the two teens walked off, Sora waving. "See you later, Leone! Nice meeting you!"

Blinking in shock and then embarrassment, Leone grumbled as a blush spread on her cheeks, "Ugh, talk about dense…" she thought on his reactions, and a smile and giggle came out of her, "I guess I can't be too mad. Kid like him being so pure at such age is hard to come by… Still, kind of disappointing that Akame seems to have more of a charm on him than myself…"

Truth be told for Sora, it felt odd being in such a massive fortress which was practically a small and rather luxurious castle with so few people, prompting him to ask, "Doesn't it get lonely here? This place is really big for… I think it was you, Leone, and like four more people besides Najenda…"

Looking back with her ever emotionless expression, Akame shook her head, "Everyone's loud and makes sure they are hard to forget." She pondered for a moment before adding, "And I make sure to see if they're fine when they return."

"Are you a medic?" he asked in honest surprise, tilting his head to the side.

"You are good at healing, so you'd be the one in charge of that," Akame coldly informed him. "The ones who do the most healing tend to be Lubbock with his Relic and Bulat with what he recalls from his training, but it's mostly superficial stuff."

"Heh, yeah, I tend to both heal myself a lot and get my friends to heal me almost as much," the boy recalled a certain loud duck. Letting out a sigh, he had to be honest, "Donald was always yelling at me to not make him waste his magic when we were fighting Heartless. Oh, he'd try to keep me alive, but considering he focused on casting spells… It was like using bullets to heal a partner rather than to fight, if it makes sense…"

"Magic bullets to heal," at that, Akame held her chin in deep thought.

Snickering at that, Sora had to be honest, "Can you imagine such a thing? I bet it'd be cool."

"You heal from afar, so that's good, too," Akame nodded. Feeling a little sad at the girl's limited emotional range, Sora tried to dig deeper, but she beat him to it, "Do you get hurt often?"

"Oh, yeah…" scratching the back of his head sheepishly, he looked away with a slight wince. He had been shot, cut, stabbed, poisoned, electrocuted, burnt, smashed, frozen, and sliced with a variety of weapons and spells which made him thankful for potions, elixirs, and ethers to replenish his magic for healing, "It's what's helped me learn how to fight, though, even if Tatsumi's body is a lot slower than my own. And it's hard to not get hit in a big fight against a lot of enemies."

"Indeed," Akame nodded and finally showed some emotion when lowering her eyes.

Feeling guilty at making her sad, Sora tried to change the subject, "So, uh, yeah, my healing is good for basically everything. It's what's gotten me through the land of the dead."

"Good," the girl said simply and continued walking forward.

"Not very good at talking, huh?" he tried to quip, but couldn't.

"Whoa!" Sora leapt back, facing a new face.

"Lubbock," Akame addressed the one to voice Sora's thoughts.

He was a fair-skinned young man definitely in his late teens or at most his very early 20s with shoulder-length green hair with green eyes which were halfway shown thanks to the bangs over the left one, and red goggles on top of his head. A long, green jacket with a fur-trimmed hood over a white and red ringer shirt and blue jeans with brown shoes made him look like he tried a bit too hard to be trendy and a man of stealth at the same time.

It was the wide, suspicious grin as he wrapped an arm around Sora that had the brunet eye him with caution, "Come on, Akame! I've got to meet the new face and see some things real men of culture are into. Sora, right? Tell me, is Akame here your type? Or are you more into Leone's?"

"My type?" Sora asked with his head tilted to the side. Part of him, most definitely Tatsumi's remains, felt that the man was asking about superficial beauty, but the Keyblade wielder had to be honest, "Like a fighting partner? If so, Akame seems good enough to cover my blind spots."

"Dude…" Lubbock stepped back, shock on his face. "How can you…? No, I mean, look at those bods of theirs and try to think what's your type?!"

Attempting to do so, Sora held his chin, closed his eyes… and crossed his arms, "Uh… I guess Leone and I are in the same category? We tend to just hit things really hard and fast."

"You also launch things hard and fast," Akame added with a solemn nod as she registered the question the same way the boy did. "That gives you points over her."

"Uh, like two peas in a pod," the green-haired man winced. "Fair enough, I guess this means you're not much of a lady magnet. Guy like you couldn't have much experience with ladies."

"But I kind of do," Sora looked at his hand to help him count. "Let's see, I have fought with Selphie on the beach since we were kids when she used her jump-rope like nunchaku, then there's Yuffie with her giant shuriken, and there's this mermaid Ariel who I fought with and-"

"Wait a second, you met a mermaid?!" Lubbock gaped in horror and awe, his jaw nearly touching his knees. Rushing to Sora, he grabbed him by the lapels, "Details, man! Give me details! How big was she?! Seashell bra or hair-covering! All details!"

Thankfully for Sora, a swift jab from Akame's sword pummel to the young man's gut was enough to get Lubbock off his face, "You've got cleaning and patrol duties, please take care of them…"

"…understood…" the youth winced with his face on the floor and his bottom up.

"Is everyone this energetic?" Sora asked the stoic girl.

"Yes," was her only response.

"Then it's almost like I didn't leave home," he noted and followed her.

-Training grounds-

"Other than cooking at the kitchen, eating at the mess hall, and being by ourselves are out rooms, Night Raid often trains here with practice weapons and rigorous physical training, except for Mine," Akame informed Sora when they entered an open garden with wooden dummies and weapons.

It was everything to be expected out of the fortress Night Raid lived at with the exception of a face to greet them, "Yo, Akame, showing the new blood the place? Why not bring him here?"

"Sora, this is Bulat," the girl stoically told Sora.

Bulat was a tall, muscular young man with blue eyes and black hair in a combed up, heart-shaped pompadour. Donning white pants with black boots and nothing else to let rippling muscles show in all their sweaty glory down washboard abs and sturdy pecs, he was obviously the walking tank of Night Raid. He was currently using a wooden spear to practice simple kata with a particularly fond smile aimed at the brunet who walked to him.

The boy merely smiled and waved, "Hello, nice to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine, Sora," Bulat said and held his hand rather closely.

Akame looked at this with a deadpan expression, the gear in her head turning, a black hamster with her same dead-eyed facial range running on an old wheel… Then, a picture of Leone telling her something popped in her mind, a warning to give to Sora…

"He's gay," the black-haired girl informed him.

Sora looked at her, then at Bulat, back at the girl with a dead bird's emotional range, and then at the softly smiling man who kept a firm grip on his hand… and back to Akame, "I mean, he's jolly…"

Eyes even deader than usual, Akame blinked as if it'd help her to register what Sora said… "I meant Bulat is…" she tried to think of what to say, but recalled Sora was from another world, "Huh…"

"Uh, it means I like men, Sora," the large man warmly informed him, surprised by the reaction.

"Well, I like my friends, too," Sora was even more confused. "My best friend Riku and I fight a lot because it's fun to spar at the beach, and Donald and Goofy had a lot of fun adventures."

Looking at Sora, Bulat took his hand back and clenched it into a fist as manly tears rand down his face, "Such innocence of heart… must be protected at all costs…" Using a thumb to wipe off the saline secretions from his eyes, the man gave a thumb up at the lad, "Alright, if Akame brought you here, then it means you need to shape up!"

"Right, I need to still get used to this body," Sora replied rolling around a shoulder.

"Call me Big Bro, though," Bulat demanded with a smile.

"Oh, no thanks," Sora awkwardly replied.

"You will," Bulat beamed.

"So, uh, do you think I can spar?" the brunet tried to change the subject, rolling around a shoulder with a slight wince. "I'm still not fully used to this new body."

"Yeah, you're from another world, and your heart's in this body, which makes it yours but yet not quite…" Bulat tried to sum up with a puzzled expression, eyes looking upward yet moving side to side until it was too much. Placing a hand on his head, the burly warrior let out a heavy groan, "My head hurts thinking about it… and that's with the downlow from the boss lady herself."

Clasping a wooden sword in each hand, Akame approached the new member of the team and offered him one, "Here."

Taking the sword and accepting the challenge, Sora smiled at the red-eyed girl, "Alright, this should be fun." He looked at the one who was using the training grounds before. "Sorry, but do you-"

"Don't sweat the small details, Sora," the shirtless tank grinned widely with a friendly wave. "If you are a part of this team, then just ask for a chance to train and get tough. You won't have to wait. All that said, you may want me as your opponent."

"No, I asked first," Akame coolly remarked, holding her training sword at the man.

"Cold and stoic as usual, I see," Bulat remarked with pity aimed at Sora. "Look, newbie, Akame here is a beast when it comes to swordplay."

"We fought together, so I want to see what she can do," Sora informed him, and gained a large, goofy grin. "Plus, it's going to be so much fun! Kind of nostalgic in a way!"

"How so?" Bulat and Akame tilted their heads to the side, asking the same question in unison.

"Everything about your fighting style reminds me of a few moves my friend Riku and I tried from what he read on his books," Sora admitted and took the first step with his sword held to his side.

"Understood," the girl nodded softly and took a new kata with her hands gripping the wooden handle beside her head, reminding the boy of his friend trying a similar guard until he had gotten into his preferred style.

"Alright, then I shall be the referee," Bulat grinned, seeing that the confidence in the boy's eyes wasn't arrogance. "Let's go for something simple and aim for disarming moves. Ready…" Crimson eyes narrowed at the brunet, whose grin widened, "Go!"

Violent gales of wind erupted upon contact, when in a split second Akame closed the distance and attacked the boy whose instincts made him block the attack. Both strikes clashed and bounced off each other, making Sora stumble back and allowing his raven-haired attacker to try to swat away his wooden sword. What happened next surprised the more experienced warrior whose jaw hung loose at a display of raw instinct that shouldn't have been possible…

Similarly to swimming in water, Sora's body spun with a weightless grace that helped him strike his opponent's sword to parry it, using enough force to launch himself away from Akame, "Whew!" and the boy was smiling at the girl, who raised her sword again, "Not bad!"

"Thanks," the girl barely nodded, almost like a minuscule twitch of the neck and head, without lowering her guard after what she witnessed.

"Kid moves like a legendary Danger Beast but with lots more brain," Bulat whispered to himself, still in awe at such a display of raw talent. "No, there's more to it than that…"

Rushing forward, the clash of wooden swords increased with thunderous clapping, bringing both Sora and Akame to understand how each other fought better. The girl went in for the kill at any and all chances she had, using precise movements to strike the weaknesses and openings of her target. Meanwhile, the brunet used his own natural instincts to react and adapt to the attacks, but it was a mere fraction of what made him keep up. Bulat tried to analyze the Keyblade wielder's fighting style, attempting to rationalize such wild flailing being used so… efficiently. By all accounts, any man who took the sword could swing it like a brute, but the otherworldly boy did something more, taking an approach to fighting he couldn't really put his finger on…

"What's with the noise?! You're ruining dessert time!"

Loud annoyance was broadcast from the powerful lungs of a young girl of below-average height. She had long, pink hair tied in pigtails which were the same color as her large eyes and outfit. The bubblegum-colored clothing consisted of a tied shawl with a high collar, a long-sleeved shirt, and a gown with black stockings with pink shoes adding variety.

Her shouting distracted Sora for a moment, much to Bulat's shock, "Akame, Sora, stop!"

The man's cry of advice were halted when it all finally clicked for him, seeing the black-clad girl step in for an upwards slash like the when she first attempted to disarm Sora. What transpired told him that the boy did move like a beast who could think… but also on that could learn.

Quickly sidestepping the blow, Sora stood next to Akame and mimicked her attack with another clash of wooden swords, "Ah, sorry!"

Just like that, the boy stepped back and raised his hands in an apologetic gesture to which his opponent repeated by holding her own sparring weapon on one hand, "No problem."

"Yes, there is a problem!" the girl from before snapped, walking to them and jabbing a finger on Sora's chest. "Do you know what a good rest does for people?! Well, you just ruined it with all your loud fighting! I'm supposed to be on a break enjoying my favorite parfait and your loud clashing has ruined my appetite! My food's probably melted because you-"

"Sora, this is Mine," Akame cut her off.

Now identifying the girl as Mine, Sora chortled, "Uh, sorry about the food, but… couldn't you just have moved to another side? This is the training grounds, right?"

Connecting the dots, the girl grumbled, huffed, turned, and left, "Just be mindful of others."

Akame turned to Sora, "Don't worry, she had a rough day before."

"Very rough, it seems," he remarked.

"Good spar," she replied with a curt nod, to which he grinned widely.

"Let's have another one," his bright disposition surprised Bulat.

He saw Akame smile, "Sounds good…"

Of course, despite the surprises, the older warrior couldn't help but think, "Kid's a free-style fighter that learns insanely fast in battle." Smiling with a bittersweet stare, he couldn't help but admire such great potential and how it affected the stone-faced assassin next to him, "It's a shame he's a bit too innocent for my tastes, but good enough to get Akame to be happy."

-Mess Hall-

Just about the one thing the wielder of the Keyblade hadn't expected from such a large fortress was for it to have a kitchen and dining room big enough for all members of Night Raid rather than an actual army. Akame explained it was because the fortress used to be more of a lookout post for the empire in days of old, but Sora didn't truly buy it given the ample space and enormous rooms. Najenda informed him it was likely that they were expanded and forgotten by former generals who used fonds to line their own pockets, but even she wasn't sure.

Of course, as a healthy young man, all he cared after training with Akame was grub which, to Sora's surprise, came in the form of a gigantic platter filled with meat, "Uh…"

Looking at the red-eyed girl, he gulped as she devoured steaks, ribs, sausages, legs, chops, and all manner of dishes that required a little seasoning and an open flame to get to eating. It was a thing of illogical biology that allowed her to remain so slim while eating an entire platoon's worth of food all by herself. The girl had been kind enough to provide Sora with a share of the meal for giving her quite the excellent workout. Of course, what she considered a reasonable amount for a boy was at least six times the limit of what his stomach could handle.

"Eat while it's hot," she said after ripping a chunk of wild boar leg meat off the bone with her teeth before chewing it with gusto.

"You sure have a healthy appetite," he commented with dread, awkwardly stabbing a fork into the fish filet she offered just as grilled and juicy as all her food. "I feel full just looking at you."

"Better fill up if we're going out tonight," Akame warned him, digging into the wing of a massive bird dripping with sauce. "Either you get a mark, or you have to come to clear Heartless."

"I get the whole having to deal with bad people, and if they use Heartless, they sure are bad news, but it feels like you guys take it a bit too seriously," he said simply.

"What makes you say that?" the girl asked after cleaning the meat off the wings, leaving clean bones on her plate.

"Heartless are attracted to evil people, and the greater their evil, the more likely they are to be turned into Heartless," he reminded her. "Of course, some people try to control them, but always fall. I had a hard time helping a friend snap out of it."

"…you did?" Akame put her food down, listening intently.

Nodding, Sora sighed, "It was very hard… He ended up as a puppet for someone far too gone with trying to study darkness. We fought a lot, and getting him back wasn't easy…"

"But you said there are those who are irredeemable," Akame pointed out in confused intrigue.

"A truly evil witch had tricked him, and it took my friends and I to fight him a lot to get him back, and even then there were others to help him…" Sora smiled at that. "Of course, once he returned, he more than made up for it. I'm still mad he made me worry a lot more than I should have a few times… and still think I should punch him in the face."

Chuckling, Sora launched his fist into the air with a wide grin which Akame stared at, "He… sounds like a true friend. Do you… miss him?"

"Doesn't get easy being without them…" Sora replied with a melancholic grin, then snickered with a hand to his chest. "And yet, even if we're far apart, we can't really forget each other. I think that is quite good enough. They'd possibly smack me if I mope for too long missing them…"

"Quite a wonderful group of friends," Akame said.

"That's sort of what I was trying to get at…" he rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic wince. "I can't really put it into words, but there are times you can truly feel when someone wants or needs to be saved… Once we fought Aria, it became too obvious there was no changing her."

"How can you tell?" she genuinely wanted to know, inching closer to Sora. Placing a hand onto her developing chest, she tilted her head curiously, "Do hearts really have such bonds?"

"More like it depends on how we make those bonds?" he answered just as unsure. "Trust me, the more you try to think about it, the bigger the headache."

"Guess I can try to trust your heart," she nodded.

"Sheesh, you're now making me doubt myself," he admitted with a chortle. "But I guess I ought to try. After all, I can never do much alone."

"Because teamwork is required to succeed where one alone may fail," Akame dully stated.

"Friends are your power," he corrected with a chipper tone.

"…power?" looking down, the girl tried to think of what he meant. "Yes, I guess… together we really had a lot of power facing that girl and her Heartless."

"Pondering how to make it make sense is going to give you a migraine," he snickered sheepishly, a hand on the back of his neck. "I kind of just say what comes to mind naturally…"

"You're honest, I like that," she admitted, unaware a wave of heat rushed to her cheeks and his.

Until someone appeared, "Oh, Mr. Sora… a moment, please."

"First mission for him, Sheele?" Akame asked after shaking her head off the odd sensation.

Sheele was a slender-yet-curvaceous young woman in her mid-20s with long, purple hair and matching eyes in a revealing, sleeveless lilac Chinese dress with detached sleeves and white boots. Other than the fact she had glasses and a barely noticeable scar on her right cheek under her eye, the most notable trait was her enormous pair of scissors carried at her side. They had a cute panda face design on the pin keeping the blades together.

"Indeed, Najenda has summoned him," the spectacled woman replied. The lady turned to leave… and immediately tripped on her own feet, landing face down with her rump up, "Ouch…"

Wincing at the fall, Sora barely noticed that Akame had halfway expected that by the way she just helped the woman up, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, but… how shameful, in front of the new recruit, and a young boy at that," Sheele lamented, a couple of tears in her eyes. "This is about the seventh time I fall now. First, with after getting salt instead of sugar for our tea, and then…"

"Not to be rude, but… is she really an assassin?" he asked, finally concerned by the standards that Najenda had for the crew.

"Oh, I am good at killing," the purple-haired woman replied with a meek smile. There was a sinister smile upon her lips, "Actually, it is the one thing I enjoy doing… Uh, that said, you two must go to get the information on Sora's first mission and target."

Questioning his life choices was no longer an option for Sora, which he realized at last.

-Empire Capital-

Using the dark cover of the night, Akame and Sora had been sent on his first mission to find and kill a man by the name of Ogre. Asking if they were pulling his leg with such a name, he was informed that the man truly existed, was a captain revered in the imperial army with plenty of corrupt deals, Heartless following him around, and a hefty bounty on his head. In order to test their new recruit, Najenda ordered the boy to fight the man head on, kill him, and come back alive without anyone seeing him. The man had a mile long criminal record which the empire shrugged off because of his connections, typical things one would expect of a shady military man with criminal ties.

For Sora, the biggest crime was his company, "Green Requiems, of course…" he sighed at the sight of the tiny Heartless whose round heads were adorned with straw witch hats carrying the emblem of their kin, small bodies covered in a green cloak which made them look like cups with no handle and stick legs reminiscent of bird feet. "Guess that's one smart way to fight."

"Are they dangerous?" Akame asked, honestly finding the Heartless adorable enough to pet.

"If they have company, yes," Sora informed her. "They not only hover all over the place, they heal themselves and others, but since they are slow…"

"Hit them hard and fast, then take out Ogre," Akame summed up.

"They can't cure an enemy if you kill them, so there's that," Sora added.

"We shall lead his troops away from here," Akame firmly stated. "Do your best."

"You too," he replied with a smile.

Ogre was a large, muscular man with black hair graying near his temples. He had four ponytails or braids on the back of his head wrapped in white cloth. A large, star-shaped scar covered a missing left eye while his remaining one was red with a black sclera. Teeth quite sharp like his namesake gave him a monstruous look with or without the suit of armor typical for the Imperial Police.

And he wasn't thrilled to see a boy drop off a rooftop in front of him and wield a massive key, "Is that a Relic?" he snarled, reaching for one of the oversized slabs of steel he called a sword. "Then you Night Raid assassins are dumber for-"

"THUNDER!"

Lifting his Keyblade high in the sky, Sora rained lightning bolts onto the Green Requiems and the man, who let out a howl of pain from the shock. Adding to that the conductivity of the steel, and Ogre was down and out for the count… insultingly fast and easy.

"Hot damn…" Lubbock whispered in awe. "Oi, oi, oi, how come the rookie's this tough?! I wanted to bring him to a few parties to get him to hook me up with ladies, not outshine me!"

"Even a baby boy could do that," Leone teased with a smirk, then beamed. "Lucky you, Akame."

Meanwhile, Sora watched the hearts of the creatures he had also electrocuted fly into the sky to reach their final destination. Bittersweet memories crossed his mind upon recalling how a man he believed pitiable used them to create his own path to his ambitions. Two words echoed in his head and he tried to ignore them, but they escaped his lips and were caught by his new friend.

"Kingdom… Hearts?" Akame echoed.

"Long story short, think of it as the biggest of all hearts," he started and rubbed his head to try to keep it as simple as he could. "All worlds have a heart, and they, like our own hearts, share bonds which cannot be broken. Kind of how you feel close to Sheele when you help her. Well, think of it but with countless worlds and people…"

"Do the Heartless want to eat it?" she went straight to the point.

"It's why they will try to get to the heart of any world which isn't sealed by the Keyblade," he held up his weapon with a melancholic expression that Akame understood.

"Burdens like that come with the power one wields," she stated and held up her sword.

"Or how one uses their power," he remarked, recalling the many people he met in his journeys who had used their blessings and curses for good. "I made some who were also great friends."

Curiously tilting her head, Akame asked, "Do you wish to talk about them?"

"Where to even begin?!" Sora chuckled with a smile that stirred something in Akame. "I guess with the two half-pints that helped this half-pint before you…"

Regaling her with his misadventures with a talking duck and dog, Akame followed Sora to the base of Night Raid with her usual deadpan expression broken by an upward tug of her lips. She found all her senses focused on his stories of visiting a bizarre land of wonder, stumbling into a deep jungle, fighting at a coliseum, sailing on a magic carpet on an arid kingdom, swimming through a vast sea, running in a world made to scare everyone, ending up eaten by a whale, and dealing with pirates in a giant ship where he flew… By the time he started to go into detail about a corrupted world and having to fight a former friend, the girl was on the metaphorical edge of her seat. The two failed to notice that during their trip back to Night Raid's headquarters, Leone giggled from behind with her attention on the two and the pouting Lubbock grumbling about how lucky the newcomer was.

"Cute, aren't they?" Leone teased the jealous green-haired assassin.

"Quite," he grumbled, then sighed. "Man, I can't believe I'm going to have to use a kid as a point of reference for myself and Lady Najenda…"

"Ever thought you could, you know, stop peeping?" the blonde woman recalled a certain incident.

"Surely, she knows my love can't be contained to a single woman," and he said that with a grin.

"You're the worst…" the lion woman deadpanned.

-Days later at Night Raid's HQ-

Being woken up by Bulat and dragged deeper into the forest where the fortress was hadn't been at all what Sora expected to start his morning, but there were assassins after them. He knew that the killers had to be bad news and quite gone if they had sent Heartless for him and the muscular man to take out. Unlike their first appearance, the giant of a warrior donned a large armor with a joyous smile aimed at his protégé and words of wisdom.

"Listen attentively, Sora," the pompadour man exclaimed proudly, clad in a white trench coat with matching pants and heavy armor on his shoulders and legs, along with a closed helmet that had a black visor with two amber eyes seemingly glowing in darkness. From his back, he pulled a crimson spear out which he wielded to slice several shirtless men in white cloaks, turbans, and pants who jumped out of the trees to strike him, "Relics come in all shapes and classes. A few are ever similar, but mine, Incursio, is something only Akame and her Murasame can compete with!"

It was a shock to see him swiftly and effortlessly turn the men into minced meat… but Sora kept his eyes on the enemies behind the large man, "Heartless at your seven!"

Swinging his spear around, Bulat split five Shadows… but not the Soldiers. Helmeted versions of the lesser Heartless, the slightly tougher and shakier monsters launched their bodies clad in baggy outfits akin to a jester's towards the heavily armored man. The older warrior thrust his spear forth and skewered two, only to see more rush at him.

"Ungh, they're like cockroaches!" Bulat exclaimed with his free arm up to block them, letting the Soldiers claw at him without leaving so much of a scratch on Incursio.

However, the lack of firepower was made up with numbers as the Soldiers tried to crush him under their combined weight to pin him down… "Dig in your heels!"

Reacting right as he heard that, Bulat jammed his feet into the ground just as a bright light erupted in front of him. He could see through the withering shadows that Sora had stabbed the ground so hard with magic that an eruption of earth and sheer energy launched the Soldiers off him. Both his weight and armor kept him safe from the hit, but he had no doubt that if the Heartless hadn't been on him and the boy hadn't held back, he would have been sent flying along the monsters. An amused chuckle escaped him as the boy stood by his side to look for further incoming enemies.

"You're a real team player, Sora!" Bulat roared, eyeing the other Heartless. Looking at the boy, a flash of genius crossed his mind as he extended his spear to Sora's feet, "Let's give it to them!"

"Roger!" the boy nodded.

Getting up on the flat side of the tip, Sora let Bulat spin him around and launch him at the incoming Shadows to slice them from high with sheer brute force while the armored man ran to impale them from below. The combined attack repeated as the boy leapt off and landed on the larger warrior's weapons or shoulders, bouncing off and all over the place as they charged at a veritable army of the dark creatures.

From afar, Mine whistled in amazement, "How does he…" she scratched her head while looking at the two through the telescope of an enormous rifle which could be confused for a miniature air hangar with the jet turbine on its side, "Does he share a neuron with everyone he meets?"

"Maybe it's the bonds of hearts he speaks about," Shelee said behind her, using her scissors to bisect a man who attempted to sneak up on the pigtailed girl. "It seems to have worked with Akame. She is actually showing a smile when he's around her."

The young sniper turned and fired onto a platoon of soldiers who were rushing to try to flank and outnumber the two beastly powerhouses, "Ugh, don't tell me she's getting a boyfriend before me."

"I mean, you could try to be nice…" the spectacled woman shyly pointed out.

"Zip it!" the pink-haired girl snapped while heavy bullets turned the enemy assassins into pulp.

-Najenda's office-

Eventually, seeing the woman for a mission report filled Sora with some dread that passed away a tad too fast for his liking. Not that he disliked her, but the idea of fighting a corrupt government for a resistance he had to meet, regardless of how utterly and ridiculously evil the empire was, didn't sit well with him. Once everything was said and done, what came next? He was most likely stuck in perhaps the most distant world to his own forever, and while he accepted the consequences of his choice to ensure his friends would be safe, there was a part of him which didn't wish to familiarize itself fully with the job of an assassin. Granted, perhaps it was due to not knowing what to do after he was done helping against the prime minister.

Najenda read him like a book, "Pondering if you'd rather be a fisherman?"

"That obvious?" he chortled, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "I mean, no disrespect, but how can you just get used to this job and shrug it off?"

"Part of being a former soldier myself," she admitted, the smoke of her cigar filling the air, which he swatted aside. Chortling, Najenda placed her cancer stick on the ashtray on her desk and gave him a warm smile, "You're doing good, Sora. I think we can give you a solo mission sooner than later."

"Maybe if I have someone to guide me, your world's huge," he sighed, crossing his arms with a sigh of dread. "Agrabah was easy to navigate because of Aladdin and the magic carpet."

"…I'm not going to ask for details," Najenda had seen him do magic, and there were too many odd tales she got from him to know she'd get dizzy with the first five seconds of an explanation. "What I wish you to do is find and assassinate an Imperial Relic wielder who has been going around killing everyone crossing his path. A former executioner who has lost all his marbles."

"Wouldn't Bulat or Akame be better suited?" he retorted.

"Frankly, I wish to see what that Keyblade of yours can truly do against an actual threat unlike Ogre or the guy I had you and Mine go for," Najenda commented.

Sora sighed at the reminder, "Good point, she did all the job on that, but boy was she mad that I got the guy who tried to sneak behind her."

Recalling the event in his mind involved a large man in karate poses and a few Large Bodies trying to strike Mine from behind. Her bullets bounced off the magic shield of the fat Heartless, giving the human in charge of the dark beings a chance to close in. Of course, Sora was quick to react and hit back with a freezing spell before informing the sniper that the enormous monsters' heads were a weak point. She snapped about how she knew despite having fired at their guts uselessly for a few seconds before taking proper aim and nailing them between the eyes. Najenda could already see all of it play out without being there or having all the details told to her, the girl was a handful…

"Returning to the main topic," Najenda slid a picture for Sora to see. "Zanku the Beheader, and he relishes on the nickname from before and after being kicked out."

Zanku was a tall and robust man with very marked facial features, including a sinister grin from ear to ear. He had dark blue eyes, blonde hair with horn-like bangs, and white and black headphones. Under a long coat with a steel, shell-like object on the shoulder, he wore a white shirt and purple tie, with wears black gloves on his hands along with pants of the same color as well as brown boots and a blue number 8 decorated on the hand blade-holder he had. On his forehead was his Relic, a piece of steel which resembled a closed eye complete with markings akin to eyelashes.

Blinking owlishly, he asked, "Do all the bad guys we face have to mug in the evilest way possible?"

At that, Najenda snorted before giggling, having to cover her mouth to calm down, "Oh, thanks, Sora, I needed that after today." Shaking her head, the busty leader of Night Raid looked to the side, "Akame, you can come in if you wish to."

Doing as told, Akame arrived much to Sora's surprise and gave a polite tilt of the head to Najenda, "I wish to join Sora on this mission. At least as backup should he-"

Najenda politely cut her off with a hand up, waited for the girl to quiet down, and spoke softly yet firmly, "Our rookie here has made it clear he can more than hold his own. We are giving him a push to see what he can truly do. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think he was ready…"

"Uh, well, I could still use a guide," Sora reminded the woman of his biggest problem. "Like I said, this world is massive compared to others I've visited… Then again, I've mostly been to portions of said worlds rather than exploring every nook and cranny…"

"Can I…" Akame's sudden response shook Najenda for a second, surprising the woman at just how sincere and caring the girl looked for a second. Knowing the swordswoman as an emotionless and utterly cold killer, the white-haired woman was flabbergasted to see concern, "Apologies…"

"I hope you stay back," Najenda agreed, but not fully. "Should Sora fall, that's when you strike."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," the boy pouted.

"Just prove me wrong, then," the woman grinned, but Akame kept her eyes on her with worry.

"Let's go, Sora," the red-eyed girl told the boy from another world.

-Empty Plaza-

Sora had come to terms with the fact he would feel a deep pang of nostalgia whenever a part of the world he inhabited reminded him of others he had been at. Currently, he was looking for the man named Zanku through a citadel reminiscent of Traverse Town and Twilight Town. What truly brought the memories back into a flow of fond memories was the large square where the moon illuminated the mostly empty stone bricks of the street. It was akin to the time he met a pair of unforgettable friends who literally crashed into his life. Another part of him felt like the space could be used for a quick match of Struggle to beat a certain smarmy blond with a beanie. Perhaps a tad dark, but he did enjoy giving the boy a swift humbling session.

Zanku arrived with an almost eerily convenience and a giggle at the sight, "Luring me into a fight, huh? You're a gutsy brat, aren't you?" his wide smirk and even wider eyes told the boy that the man's mental state was far less than stable, "But… I can read you like an open book, kiddo…"

The Relic on Zanku's head opened like an eye, revealing a green crystal which made it further resemble an ocular globe, "You're not the weirdest guy I've fought." Sora replied flatly, gripping the short broadsword which once belonged to Tatsumi on his hip with one hand before summoning his Keyblade with his free one, "But you're not the first to try weird magic to beat me."

"Quite an unusual weapon, but not a Relic, eh?" Zanku eyed him, holding his chin with his teeth in full display thanks to his manic expression. "Tell me, boy, what is it you see?! A single man whose heart you'll take?! Or!" Dramatically, the madman raised one hand to snap his finger, "Every one of the sad little lives I have cut short?!"

With a snap of his fingers, Zanku summoned a Heartless to his side. The glow of the moon brought enough light to see the shadows squirm from under his feet before shooting upwards, allowing him to sit atop a rather menacing Heartless.

"He's already controlling the Heartless?" Akame watched from her spot, ready to leap into action, only to have Bulat grab her shoulder.

"Don't!" the man exclaimed. "Remember, he needs to do this himself not just for Night Raid. If he doesn't have what it takes to defeat someone with a Relic…"

Observing with narrowed eyes, Akame watched the Heartless manifest into a towering equine shape. Black hooves with a matching coat so dark they seemed to suck in the moonlight into a void loomed over Sora. The clopping of the behemoth of a Heartless would have been impressive by being twice the height, width, and weight of a regular stallion, but it had one thing no other horse had. Where the head should be was a humanoid body, the torso of a grown man in a black uniform similar to Zanku's yet carrying a long, purple cape on its shoulders and the emblem of its kin blazed into the chest like the breastplate of a knight. Yet, the most terrifying detail of all wasn't the fact it wielded a cutlass in each hand large enough to cleave a real horse and their rider in two, but the lack of a head attached to the neck where a stump rested.

Naturally, Zanku laughed like a madman, "Isn't my pet amazing?!"

"It just shows that I have to put an end to you as well," Sora declared.

"Go ahead, boy!" Zanku sneered in psychotic delight upon seeing Sora clench his jaw and weapons. "Tell me of the fear coursing through you! Allow me to see how you die! Beg, cry, roar! Make this a fight which will bring true joy to my heart!"

Galloping at Sora, the Headless Horseman crossed his cutlasses, brandishing them threateningly as it advanced with his hooves while Zanku roared in joy on the back of the centaur Heartless. Racing with its heavy hooves creating thunderous echoes, the dark creature could have crossed the gap between it and the boy in two seconds. Instead, it disappeared out of sight! Dashing so fast that it seemed to manifest in front of the young swordsman in the blink of an eye, the Heartless left him a fraction of a second to react to its cutlasses. The strike of steel against steel sent the Keyblade wielder flying upwards while the former executioner roared madly in joy.

Akame tried to leap forth even if it was a useless notion to save the boy falling within range of Zanku and his own weapons… "Gotcha!"

What happened next sent both relief and awe through the girl and Bulat who couldn't believe how catlike Sora was. The boy had managed to right his body midair and throw the short sword onto a shocked Zanku, who had a second to gasp at the strike. Ignoring the pain, the man unveiled his own short double-edged blades which popped out of his sleeves to cross over his face and block the strike. Due to his heavier and larger body, he easily pushed the boy back and onto range of the Headless Horseman's sabers… and finally saw how the boy reacted!

Using flexibility that Leone would envy, Sora blocked the blades which nearly split him in half, even if they sent him flying… and then kicked the air! "You fly?!" Zanku asked in disbelief, then held a hand to his Relic, "How'd you get past Spectator?! I should've been able to read your mind!"

Bulat got it, "That's it… he doesn't think, he acts…"

"Freeze!" Sora exclaimed and fired a heavy chunk of ice toward at the killer.

Swatting it aside, Zanku snarled, "…I see, cocky brat…" his sneer turned into a maniacal grin. "You react to attacks by instinct, not thinking too much on what to do! Was it that weapon of yours?! Or is it incredible luck?! It doesn't matter once I remove your head from your shoulders! Horseman!"

Rushing towards the boy, the horseman raised his swords to strike him down, to which Sora acted by dashing back just as brought up his guard for any following attacks… only for Zanku to leap over it! It was too fast for the young swordsman to react to both, an effective double offensive with four fast blades! The incredible reaction time of the boy was negated by the surprise strike which had the wide-eyed lunatic stomp onto his sword to dig his gauntlet-blades into the brunet's shoulders!

"Ngh!" the boy clenched his jaw while the madman sneered into his eyes.

"That a nice noise, Sora!" the jovial killer roared out with his teeth in full display. "Make more of that face, too! Cry, scream, beg! Let me hear what nice melody you'll create as I cut off your head!"

Feeling the blades twisting to decapitate him, Sora gasped two words, "…as if…"

"Oh, I can fix that!" Zanku smirked. "You've got a nice friend around! I can find her and-"

What happened next surprised both Sora and Zanku when blade dug through flesh… Both were lifted by the Headless Horseman, whose cutlasses had struck the murderer from behind. Thick blood coated the madman's chest and dripped in a miniature waterfall out of his mouth onto his gaping wounds. A look of utter astonishment crossed his face when he turned to the Headless Horseman… and it was soon replaced by a ghastly grin.

"Kukukuku… good, good… you knew… I needed to stop hearing the voices…" Zanku's eyes grew wider than ever before as he cackled. "You were born from my own heart, right?! That's a good boy! Making sure the screams of those who curse me finally stop ringing in my-"

Crossing his cutlasses, the Heartless tore Zanku apart and let Sora fall onto the ground with a dry, heavy thud and a groan. Having two gaping holes in his shoulders made raising the Keyblade far more difficult than ever before. Even worse, the Headless Horseman was finished wiping the blood off its blades with a flourishing flick of its wrists. The dark creature truly gave no quarter as it lifted its hooved feet to crush down the boy, ready to kill him and no longer need to fear his weapon!

"Like we'd let you!" Bulat's roaring voice was a sweet melody for Sora, who smiled when the heavily armored man stood between him and the Headless Hoseman, pushing back against the heavy hooves of the Heartless with his spear.

"Sora!" Akame ran to him, touching his Keyblade to help him lift it. "What happened? Don't the Heartless listen to their masters?"

"Until said master loses himself to darkness," Sora grunted but managed to heal himself with a sigh of relief. Getting up right when Bulat pushed back the centaur, he stood ready for more, "And this one is not going to let us go easily."

Jumping back, the Heartless raced around the trio in circles with the tip of its blades sliding and slicing along the path. A dark, creepy laugh came out of its neck stump, a jovial and sadistic guffaw. It was the stuff of nightmares, the kind of joy only a twisted monster would find in causing harm for no reason at all. The echo made it seem as if there was a head inside its torso, echoing the evil glee with which it would delight in cutting them to shreds.

"Good, the pet's taking after its former owner," Bulat commented wearily. "Ever fought an enemy on an enemy ride?"

"I fought a carriage pulled by an evil horse if that counts," Sora admitted.

"Alright, let's make do," Bulat nodded to the two. "I'll go for the legs. Sora, Akame, don't mind using my back to step on and jump, but give me a signal if you need a boost."

"Roger!" the two exclaimed and stood side by side, weapons drawn and eyes on the Heartless.

Laughing louder and louder, the centaur leapt high in the air, forcing the three fighters to dodge by either jumping or rolling to the side in Sora's case. Heavy hooves caused the entire ground to shake and break under its weight, and in turn made the landing of the humans harsher. Bulat managed to stay on his feet, but they got stuck into the crumbled ground. Akame nearly tripped on one of the tiles which was cracked by the Headless Horseman's weight, causing her to kneel in order to not land at a more disadvantageous way. Unfortunately, the Heartless made its kin's name justice.

"Gahahahahaha!" it even laughed like Zanku when it brought up its blades to strike Bulat.

"Bastard…" the man clenched his jaw when the blades went for his head… but he swiftly delivered a powerful headbutt against them!

"Nice!" Sora exclaimed and took aim with his Keyblade… noticing that the strikes on his shoulders had cut the red gi and caused the sleeves to slip over his hands. "Fire!"

Delivering a fireball at the chest of the centaur, nailing it on the side, he hoped the opening would work for the others. Akame followed by leaping over Bulat, who roared and thrust his spear at the enormous monster. Knowing the poison of her blade wouldn't kill the beast, the swordswoman aimed her katana at its chest for a slash while the armored man nailed the Headless Horseman's lower body right below the belt of its humanoid half.

"It's over!" Akame exclaimed when Bulat's strike caused the centaur to stumble back and made it open its guard from the pain, allowing her to deliver a diagonal strike over its chest.

Even as the Heartless staggered, Sora raced to join them when noticing its body remained solid, ripping off the sleeves of his gi and leaving himself with a vest, "Don't let up!"

Before Bulat could ask what the boy meant, he noticed that the shadow had a firm grip on his main weapon, "Hey, what are you- Let go!" he would've cursed like a sailor when his spear escaped his fingers, trapped in the shadows which formed the Headless Horseman, but tried to keep his cool, "Sora, what's it doing?!"

Upon seeing the body turn darker and darker, even consuming the spear, the boy raced next to his allies with dread, "It's merging with the shadows…"

Indeed, for the Headless Horseman sunk into the cracks it created, pulling the spear along it while a furious Bulat tried to reach for it only to punch the ground. Akame raised her guard, keeping her every sense on high alert in case of any incoming attack and slight shift.

Loud clopping sounds echoed from below them, accompanied by the Headless Horseman's cackle, "Of all the things it had to copy from Zanku, it was his laugh…" Bulat tried to alleviate the tension, yet didn't lower his sword, "Still, figures it'd learn from a mass murderer that it's best to hide."

"And keep his distance," Akame realized, her eyes widening. "Jump!"

Following her command, everyone jumped just as a familiar spear shot from the ground in its swift attempt to impale them. Once the wielder realized it hadn't hit any of the humans, it pulled back, retreating into the floor beneath the stone it cracked. Again, the heavy clapping of hooves against stone and mad cackling echoed as the Headless Horseman tried out its new stolen toy.

"We need to get it out, any ideas?" Sora urged them.

"Just one!" Bulat exclaimed, running away after giving Sora a thumb up. "Do your best!"

"Hold on!" Akame exclaimed, but it was too late.

"No way, he can't be serious!" Sora knew the voice of a man ready to do anything for his friends even, for he had been in a similar situation far too often.

Once more, the Headless Horseman thrust the spear from the ground, going after the seemingly escaping man, exactly as he expected, "Got him!" Bulat exclaimed and allowed the spear to sink into his gut for a chance to grab it, "Akame! Sora!"

Both teens watched the large, armored warrior lift the centaur up in the air, holding it up even as his body started to shake under the monster's weight. The Headless Horseman let go of the spear and drew his cutlasses to strike the man, who both sword wielders knew was grinning. With that, they raced at the Heartless whose blades were parried by the knight's spear back in its master's hand. Yet again, the muscular man refused to fall, even as his knees nearly reached the ground.

Sora smiled at the man for his guts, "You're insane, but I guess I now have to call you Big Bro!" Leaning close to the red-eyed girl, he perfectly imitated her guard, "Ready?!"

"Ready!" Akame exclaimed with determination in her eyes.

Just like when Bulat fought along him, Sora moved in perfect synch with Akame. The Headless Horseman watched the teens' bodies glow with light thanks to the Keyblade's magic. Dashing forward, the two left a trail of red and black for a powerful thrust which sent the Heartless up in the air. Following after it, the duo's blades swung in perfect unison, their feet moving as if they were performing a wild dance with the brunet launching wide and powerful strikes and the girl delivering swift and precise slashes. It was such a beautiful and unusual display of swordplay that the wounded Bulat stared in awe, observing the dark aura around the Murasame and the silvery light emanating from the Keyblade. And then, the finale.

Breaking off to stand on opposite sides of their enemy, the teens nodded with Sora smiling and Akame giving a brief glance of joy, "Let's go!"

In a split second, the two had switched places… and Bulat saw the air being sliced by bright red gusts and silvery light all around the Headless Horseman. Like a cracked crystal orb, the slashes seemed to spread more and more until, at last, powerful gales of wind broke out and caused the Heartless to finally fall to its knees. A singular heart broke out and floated into the sky as its body finally returned to nothingness…

"Heal!" Bulat gasped as Sora ran to him, even after the man's body was engulfed by the green healing light, with Akame closing in just as fast, "Are you alright, Bul- Er, big bro?"

"After all that, I think you can just call me Bulat," the man smirked and gave him a thumb up in gratitude. "Nice job out there with Akame. You may not have beaten Zanku, but you more than made up for it with that Heartless. I can see-"

Whatever he wanted to say was interrupted when Akame slapped him, which would have hurt a lot more if not for his armor, "Don't ever do that again." She told him with a cold tone and her red eyes glaring hotly at him, "Please…"

"Sorry, but you know how this job is," Bulat softly told her.

Realizing Akame was hurt in the past, Sora didn't speak. Instead, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a soft, reassuring glance. He didn't smile, but he knew the girl needed more than a joke. A soft hum and nod in acceptance told him she wouldn't forget he was there to aid her.

-TBC-

Alright, I wanted to do a LOT with this chapter, but it's best to cut it short than overdo it. I do apologize for how long it's taking me to get work done, but summer vacation is here, and I will try to write more.

Keep in mind that I now have my own place and need to take care of it and myself, but yours truly will try his best to continue writing and pay the commissions he owes to those who have been kind enough to wait.

On a side note, please don't rush me since I want to write to the best of my ability and make the stories fun. Remember, I am the one who has to create them, and I'd rather not write out of spite or grow stressed.

I'm Akito the Boxer, off to the next round.