Chapter 3: Arc 1: Traitor in the Mist part 1.
Disclaimer: I realize I need to exaggerate my word count a bit to tell you that RWBY and Akame ga Kill belong to their rightful owner.
A/N: If I made a mistake, I'll usually fix it within a few days before moving on to writing the next chapter. In term of combat strength, Akame has both her past experiences and Raven training plus Aura to her advantage. So without a doubt, Akame is above Yang and Pyrrha. I'm not getting to Cinder vs Akame or Ozpin vs Akame.
But Akame and Cinder would have a strong rivalry with one another.
Lil' Miss Malachite always consider herself an untouchable information broker and crime boss so long as she could offer knowledge in exchange for her organization continue survival and authorities turning a blind eye to her illegal business practice. She's not stupid enough to upset the wrong people nor make too many enemies.
One of these people is the Branwen clan. The criminal underworld knows the name of the Branwen. A name that is regarded with both respect and fear.
The blonde, heavy-set women gather information on her business partner Raven Branwen. Who ran from her husband and took one of the twins with her.
Ms. Malachite look toward the upstairs room of her hideout, a dingy pub, where her twin daughters Melanie and Miltia suppose to be when she's working. She can't help but frown at what her business partner was doing. It isn't her life, but at least she doesn't separate her kids nor run off like a coward while chanting some rule of nature crap.
'Seriously! A bunch of hypocrites these bandits are!'
At least her and Junior try to work it out. She even considers sending her daughters to his new nightclub. Junior a skirt chaser, but he's a decent gentleman. Malachite hope that as the girl gets older, the twin's will be placed in a job that isn't intimate. Or by GODS SHE'LL START A CROSSCOUNTINENT GANG WAR!
She understood that those two could make her soft and an easy target for rivals. Thus she came to the conclusion that they could learn the family trade alongside someone else. But she would never separate them.
Oh well.
When either the father, brother or the other twin come into her web, She would be more than happy to point them in the last known direction of Raven's Tribe with a hefty price of course. Plus, Raven need an heir to the throne. Since she's the closest thing to being considered a bandit queen with how persistent the tribe is after nearly a century of operation. Even she has to applaud their stubbornness.
Now the apparent topic of the day is some little girl running off to gods knows where. Even in her sphere of influence, The only thing the information broker knows is that her name is Vernal Easter, blonde with green hair, and wear springtime color as her name suggests. She only received vague info that Vernal is heading east.
'Easter heading east,' She facepalmed at the stupid joke an eccentric insider.
She has the other Branwen twin, Qrow, dropping a fortune this morning. He's the twin that choose to bend the law instead of breaking it like her sister. When asked about where he got it on a huntsman salary, he quote,' Some weirdos dropped it'.
Maybe that weirdos are the fucking masked lunatics who held her daughter's hostage. That trio has a fortune on their head for the recovery of her precious daughters.
Malachite was going to ask Qrow to help her in exchange for info but the mere presence of Summer Rose prevent a shady dealing. She's known as the world's greatest huntress and a role model for aspiring youth the world over. An image of virtue that could completely ruin her business if she set her mind to it and having Summer killed is suicidal on many levels.
Now she has to deal with the other Branwen twin. At least this time, Raven owes her a favor. Raven brand of brutality is going to be needed.
Mr. Black is retired in Vale, and she doesn't trust the efficiency of city slicking killers. Otherwise, If he was here, she'll make sure he returned to retirement even richer and hire both to make such the chances of success goes up by 200%.
The guards outside rush into the pub with the news.
"She here with an addition," He said promptly.
"An addition?" Malachite tensed.
"It's just a little girl," He revealed.
"Oh? Don't just stare at me! Escort them in!" Ms. Malachite commanded, and he did just that.
The ex-huntress stroll in with that mask held on her hips and a cold expression on her visage.
"I would like to thank you for notifying me of the council discovery of my tribe," Raven stopped near the desk. Akame follows closely behind her," If only the news came sooner."
Raven resentment was felt in the last sentence.
"We help each other rise to power, I thought it would be beneficial to us both if my eyes and ears in the countryside stay alive," Ms. Malachite look at the little girl behind Raven," Now is this little scroop of love your daughter? I can see the resemblance. I had twins myself. A pair of sweethearts."
"Malachite, I'm not in the mood for mother talk. I'm here to look for someone. Her name is Vernal Easter," She interrupted. The tone of her voice drew disdain from the spider's; Malachite goons.
"But this mother talk is an important matter. Last night, Some lowlifes broke into my own home and held my twin's hostage asking for the same thing. I give my honest reply and they still took them as insurance. Your brother and came by this morning with more lien then they can make," Malachite explained, calling froth a goon carrying a single card, "10 million liens are on this card. Mind explaining to me why the girl is so important all of a sudden?"
"I won't tell you for the sake of your organization safety," Raven stared down Malachite," It not the type of information you blackmail people with."
Malachite slammed her fist on the table. She'll find a way to get an answer off of Raven later.
"Fine fine," She nonchalantly waved off," If it comes back to bite me, We'll going to have a talk. Look, Kill the bastards and bring my daughters back. Here a bag for the heads and pictures of the three. Your old team and the bastards are heading east toward Yumi Pass. I'll reward you at 2 million liens."
"50/50 Malachite. You owe me for outdated intel."
"How about I owe you nothing if a single scratch is found on my children?"
"50/50 for the three heads, Your daughter's safe return, and our continued business together," Raven listed," 5 million is enough to rebuild my tribe."
"I'll accept," the crime boss reluctantly agrees," Be careful, Yumi Pass is known for its dense fog."
A goon handed Raven the items.
"You're welcome," the swordswomen nodded, "I will be back before sundown. Let's go Akame."
Raven turned around only to hear Malachite call back.
"Wait! Leave that burden of love here so she doesn't get in the way."
Akame mentally thought about the type of women Raven is, she would leave her here with these criminals. The same mother that ran from her own tribe when they were being raided. She wouldn't be surprised if either her mother didn't return and she'll be at the mercy of these people. Even if she returns and somehow fails, What would they do to her?
She was quick to leave her family and friends. She even has no trouble ruining the lives of other people for her own selfish gains.
Akame mentally prepared for the closest thing to being sold to slavery.
"No," Raven face twisted into a snarl.
Raven put on her mask and grabbed Akame by the hand. She pulls her daughter closer to her, with the other hand resting on her sword.
Everyone in the pub was ready to attack the bandit.
"Raven, I'm not taking her hostage. I'm cold but not heartless. She'll be safe with us," Malachite reasoned with honestly.
" I don't care."
"But your tribe is scattered and there wanted posters of you."
"I'm all the protection my daughter needs."
"As a mother, I can't permit you to put your daughter in harm's way,"
"Do you want me to find your daughters or not?"
The two look at each other with enough fire to reduce Mistral into the pit of hell.
"Get out," Malachite hissed.
Raven didn't need to be told twice. She slowly took out her sword and slash a portal open. She quickly tosses Akame into the portal first and jumped in a second after.
Akame reflex corrected her balance and slide on her feet until she finally comes to a stop. A normal 7-year-old would still be rolling on the dirt road, but Akame isn't a normal child.
"Don't trust her if you have to deal with her," Raven lifted Akame with one arm wrapped around her waist.
Nearby, A random civilian on horseback stares at the mother and daughter.
He discards the oddity as take your Kid to Work Day.
He regretted not leaving sooner when the huntress or so he thought, robbed him of his horse, his stuff, and sped off east.
Akame held on tight to the rein of the horse as the beast of burden jumped over a fence and climb up varying terrain. The horse finally came to a stop in front of an abandoned house. It wooden frame battered by the wind, and nature already begins to overtake it.
The little girl was lifted off the horse and carried into the house.
A single dirty mattress with a blanket on concrete flooring is where they slept since the raid. Raven gently dropped her daughter onto the mattress and handed her a scroll.
Raven opened her own scroll and texted a few of her contacts.
"Here a dagger and pistol. Akame, Your nanny should arrive and shout 'featherless crow' in the next five minute. If you heard someone approaching and they don't say anything or you don't recognize their voices, Hide. If you have no other choice, aim for the tendons and slit their throats," Raven hugged her daughter, place an Atlesian standard handgun and dagger beside her, and run out the door.
Akame stood up and looks out the window only to see her gone. The horse was even left behind. Akame figures her mother opens a portal.
She set back down on the mattress and examines the dagger which felt like a short sword in her tiny hands and stabbed the concrete floor. It barely left a scratch.
She closes her eyes and focuses. Aura in a passive state exists only as a thin layer that can heal minor wounds. The passive layer is equivalent to a tough piece of leather as opposed to the full usage that is comparable to a dense but weightless suit of armor. The full usage can be activated with a thought, but the finer tune functions like enhancing all physical attributes require further training.
With proper aura exercise, a Huntsman can trade unbreakable defense for powerful offense. Meanwhile, the same concept can be applied to gathering all of your aura to one area of the body to cushion a powerful strike. It can act as a secondary sense for the blind and even give minor precognition.
She knows what she's capable of in her old life. Akame can't help but wonder how strong she'll be with the enhancement from her aura. She can move fast enough to create afterimage, slice through stone columns, and out duel more experienced fighters. But she's still vulnerable to normal wounds.
She activated her aura as a red shadow effect flicker before her eyes. When she first activated her aura under Raven's intense training, it was a presence feeling instead of an agonizing curse when she activates Murasame trump card. It was a freezing winter, she was training on a frozen lake in northern Mistral. Akame remembers how close she was to developing hypothermia.
4 Month Ago
Akame felt as if she was fighting Esdeath all over again. Her breathing is ragged and her body sore. She was wearing only a white tank top and shorts while Raven wore all black winter clothes.
She has been training with her mother for 4 hours straight.
It was conditioning on a dense snowpack field. Umber wanted to join but gives up immediately. Raven wanted the training to be specifically meant for her daughter.
"This is starting to be child abuse," bandit one complained as Raven test Akame reflects with throwing knives.
"I'm not questioning our leader on how she raises the next heiress," bandit two shrugged as he rolled more snowballs.
"Heiress? She isn't Winter Schnee! She's our Sanzoku-hime!" bandit one joked.
"Sanzo-Wha-Valish! Speak the king's Valish," bandit two sighed.
"You're in my Kingdom gaijin(foreigner)."
"We're not in your part of the Kingdom either."
"Dust damn it. You got a point. It means Bandit princess, but with our leader growing reputation we can just call her the Criminal princess," Bandit one nodded," As long as she doesn't betray us like him."
"Unlikely, Raven will do everything to make our little girl stay loyal to her family."
The next course is running up a hill while avoiding oncoming snowballs that are the size of small boulders, barefoot.
"Akame, Your goal is to run up the hill," Raven escorted the little girl toward a hill as high as 300 meters. One side is coated in dense white snow while the other is steep and rocky," I want you to run up this hill without getting hit once. If you do, We restart it."
She stood in front of the snowy side of the hill.
"I have to run up the hill?"
"Yes," Raven confirmed.
Akame promptly runs toward the other side of the hill and Raven wasn't a one-bit surprise. She watched with approval as Akame took the easier path from the bottom of the hill.
The bandits tried to turn the snowballs around only to see the little girl already on the top of the hill within seconds.
"Congrats," A bandit tries to offer a high five only for Akame to pass all of them with cold indifference.
"That's our-," Another bandit wanted to pat the little girl's head only to have the assassin duck out of the way.
"Don't touch me," She answered coldly. The bandits shrugged at the cold treatment.
'Probably inherited from their mother,' the two thought to themselves. They would never admit it out loud.
A red portal appears between the bandits.
"Akame," the former huntress sighed," Be kind to your brethren."
Raven walked over and ruffled her daughter's head. She groaned in protest but accepted it.
"Whatever okaa-san."
"Okaa-san?" Raven smirked, "Finally picking up the dialect?"
She stabbed the floor again. This time, the tip of the dagger slide into solid concrete. She then pulls it out and looks at the undamaged dagger.
In her world, The fact that a non-teigu dagger wielded by a seven-year-old could penetrate solid concrete would make people believe it was a teigu or the person have danger beast blood in them. Akame knows that the dagger is a simple store-bought weapon. She set it aside and pick up the gun.
A standard Altersian side arm meant to kill small Grimm. It's silver with a black handle and lightened for child usage.
Child usage.
A gun.
She understood bow and arrows, knives, and swords but guns? Guns are very expensive in her world. She isn't inexperience with guns but found no reason to use them when her training calls for close-quarter combat.
Akame recall her old comrade, Mine, could theoretically defeat her if they fought on an open field, Mine has the high ground, awareness of Akame location, and distance advantage. The red assassin knows that she's far from invincible if enough disadvantage is stacked against her. Najenda wasn't a genius sniper on par with Mine and she was able to shoot Akame in the arm when they fought. Granted, Akame wasn't in the right mindset at the time.
"Mine," Akame exasperated," I don't need a range advantage."
"So? What if Murasame break one day and Pumpkin is held in my cold dead hands huh?" a girl with pink twin tails shouted as she handed Pumpkin to Akame," I'll hold Murasame while you practice putting shots downrange."
Akame handed the demon sword to her friend.
"You have a point, In exchange, I expect you to learn how to defend yourself if Pumpkin is lost," the assassin offers," Sheele wouldn't always be around to protect you if someone gets up close."
Mine looks at Murasame with wide eyes and cold sweats.
"Um, I'm not going to use this sword am I?" the sniper asked concerned.
"No one uses Murasame but me," Akame giggled at her friend's fearful reaction," We'll use sparring swords."
She lifted the gun with both arms outstretched and aimed down sight. Akame places the gun down and stared at it. She recollects how some weapons she has seen have a range/melee combination.
"Should I?"Akame debated with herself,'If it can be integrated seamlessly with a sword without comprising both effectiveness, I can see it working. I will see if I can get someone to craft it for me.'
Akame ignores the scroll knowing that most of its feature that is locked behind passcodes. It was stolen and the major function of it is turned off like dust net usage. Although Akame wouldn't blame her okaa-san, her mom, for locking that feature. She has seen a lot of violence and sexual deviancy in her past life so it didn't elicit much reaction from the experienced killer. She was more amazed it accessible through this device and can't decide if it's a bad thing and if she should do something about it. But it did cause Raven to have one of the most uncharacteristic yelped when she saw her daughter looking at it.
Raven decided to wipe her entire scroll clean of everything, and Akame was given the talk about dust net safety.
The assassin decided to spend the remainder of her time keeping an eye open for intruders.
? PoV
"Featherless crow!" I yelled at the abandoned house from a safe distance.
"I'm here nanna Flaxen!" Akame popped up from one of the windows with a smile.
Akame smile.
Every time Akame smile, I want to spoil her and carry her around like a teddy bear. That smile is so sweet, we can use it to repel Grimm. I can even feel my heart palpitating because when she smiles. It is cuter than a basket full of kittens.
She never smirks with arrogant nor grin when someone wants to speak with her. She only smiles to people she loves. And I can count those people on one hand.
The same can't be said about her mother since their relationship feels more like an apprentice and master. Even with how much Raven cares for her daughter, Akame acts cold around her no matter how hard my leader tries to be a loving mother.
Although, Raven isn't doing a good job in the first place. You can't expect someone to be a mom if they don't know how a mom acts. That's not something I should admit outloud if I value my free time.
At least I know Akame will grow up with a positive opinion of Faunus. Racist is frowned upon in our tribe. I just hope for my sake, she doesn't pick up on my risky fashion sense. Unless she wants to enter the swindling business, I'm all ears.
Both set of ears in fact! Ha!
Raven isn't going to raise a weakling, and I don't want to raise a bigot. While Martha intends to have Akame live a normal childhood as possible.
I enter the house as Akame crushed me in a hug.
"I'm here my little one," I patted her head and she nuzzled into my embrace.
I found the mattress Raven and Akame has been sleeping. I set down, stretching my leg out from my recent run-in with old acquaintances. It's not my fault stupidity and gullibility a pandemic.
"Nanna Flaxen," She set next to me," How is nanna Martha doing?"
"Nanny Martha, She's also in Mistral," I pretended to smile, "When your mom comes back. I'll go visit her with a few other family members."
Akame stared into my eyes with concern.
Does she know?
"There's nothing wrong with her?" she asked innocently. I wish I can tell her what I intend to do to her 'dear second nanny' but I couldn't bring myself to tell her.
Traitors that sell out their family must die after all.
"Akame, I found you a playmate," I changed the subject.
"That girl in the treeline?"Hold up? How did she know?
"Yes! I found her lost in the woods right after your mom texted me," I clapped, "O~oooh Vernal!"
I can hear the tiny footsteps running toward us. As she finally rounds the corner, she was panting.
"H-Hi! M-my name is Vernal Easter or Easter Vernal but...Vernal my first name," the little girl with crystal blue eyes and blonde through green hair spit out, "What yours!"
Akame size up the new girl and I expected her to treat Vernal the same as the rest of the tribe members, cold and indifferent. If this was Umber, She would fight the girl until she proves her worth.
Umber.
I swear that girl too much of a tomboy.
"Lovely meeting you Vernal. I'm Branwen Akame," Akame smiled?
Chotto matte (wait a minute)...Did this new girl make Akame smile?
"Akame?"
"Yes, nanna?"
"Am I drunk?" I scratched the back of my head.
"Yes," Akame answers," You smell like a bar."
"Make sense, carry on."
A/N: Flaxen isn't Leone reincarnation and the same for Martha. Martha is a character from Akame ga Kill Zero and Akame first kill. Who is also her best friend. I'm torn between continuing the story arc or taking a step back and writing interlude chapters to flesh out Akame relation with the few people she cares about in Raven's camp.
R/R