"It's been a while since we made that deal..." Esdeath mentioned while sitting inside Akashi's room.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about" Akashi replied.
"Before that...The activity of Night Raid became quite chaotic, they no longer target influential people and instead, their targets became generals and those who hold some strength instead of just political power. Because of that, I can't do anything despite the fact that the group of Teigu users that the emperor gathered is already waiting for my orders." Esdeath said with a frown.
"So? How does it involve me?" Akashi smirked and asked while sipping a bit of red wine.
"Wipe that smirk off your face...Just your expression told me that you are the one who is the cause of this." Esdeath smiled back said in a playful tone.
"Well of course you will be able to read it if I want you to be able to read it." Akashi shrugged his shoulders which made Esdeath frown down once again.
"Don't be a smartass. What kind of deal do you have with the Night Raid? By the way, how is Najenda doing?" Esdeath asked and when it came to Najenda, she released a bit sadistic smile.
"She is doing great, really great...I bet she really wants to see you. Anyway, enough of joking around, you don't really need to know about it, there is nothing involving you but I might tell you if you will defeat me." Akashi said with a sarcastic tone before turning a bit more serious.
"Hmm...Fine, but do you know what I find quite strange? Once when I went to the bathroom here, I actually walked in on a girl who appears to be on wanted posters as a deserter." Esdeath teased Akashi a bit since Poney usually wore masks when anyone was visiting them but Esdeath must have walked in on her after her bath to see her face.
"Oh? Don't tell me you are jealous. And that's not even the girl I previously mentioned..." Akashi exclaimed with a teasing smile while supporting his head with his hand before returning the blow.
"Well, I had my suspicion when she heard someone open the door, she actually asked if it's you. I must also mention that she was all naked and drying her hair so she wasn't looking at who it was. I was this close to killing her on spot but I held myself back after remembering our deal." Esdeath replied while putting two fingers close, leaving only a few millimeters gap between them to show how serious she was about to kill Poney on spot.
'Was that the reason, why Poney began looking weirdly at me? Previously I just thought that she had something to say but she was too embarrassed but maybe she just thinks that I am pervert...Wait, that wouldn't make any sense if she was actually naked and called out my name without covering up...What the hell happened back there? Maybe Esdeath is just exaggerating.' Akashi thought with a raised eyebrow when he heard Esdeath's words.
"...Whatever, she won't be a deserter for much longer so why do you care? Anyway, regarding the deal...I want to hold our battle in 2 weeks from now" Akashi said with a serious expression.
"2 weeks? Why wait for so long?" Esdeath asked with a puzzled expression.
"There is somewhere I want to go...And don't tell me that you yourself don't have any ideas for new techniques. Both of us will have enough time to prepare for the battle, therefore the loser won't have any excuses to use." Akashi said with a smile.
"Hah, you are right. I am quite excited about this and I indeed already have a few ideas in my mind...I guess it's better this way, where are you going, that is if it's not a secret." Esdeath released an excited smile as she admitted.
"I am planning to go to an active volcano." Akashi said while showing off his white teeth.
"Hm?! I see...Are you sure it's alright that you have disclosed this information to me?" Esdeath's eyes widened in shock before gradual understanding appeared in her expression.
"I wanted to give you a hint, however, as I said before, my Teigu is a bit special so I am not sure if yours would work the same way." Akashi smirked and revealed.
"Just from my expression...you discovered that I was thinking about going back to the Northern lands? Not bad" Esdeath admitted that she got the same idea as Akashi when he revealed it.
"Well, let's not waste any more time, I will tell my subordinates to stand by and wait for my return..." Esdeath got up to her feet, walking towards the door but she suddenly stopped midway and Akashi who was following her to see her out frowned.
"...How about the last kiss before our battle? After all, I might even accidentally kill you at that time." Esdeath spun around and pointed with her index finger at her rosy lips while saying this with a smile.
Akashi closed one of his eyes while raising his head, trying to find anything suspicious on Esdeath.
When he saw her just smiling at him, he decided to close in but when their lips were a few inches apart, Akashi put his thumb on her chin and turned her head to the side, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"?! What was that?" Esdeath frowned in dissatisfaction and questioned Akashi.
Akashi released a devilish smile and put his arm over her left shoulder as if she was his buddy while bringing his mouth closer to her ear.
"...*puff*" Akashi dramatically opened his mouth and waited for a while before he just blew hot air into Esdeath's ear which actually made her shiver a bit.
"Hmph! No need to see me out!" Esdeath realized this moment of weakness and pushed Akashi away before turning around but Akashi was still able to spot her blushing.
'Something tells me that she will visit the previous location of Partas Clan before it was destroyed. She might actually gain a lot by going there and spending some time there. Those memories must be quite painful despite her not showing it to others. I just hope she won't gain some stupid "enlightenment" regarding humans' lives, it's already troublesome with her philosophy "The strong survive and the weak die". She is ultimately right but I actually think that she misunderstood her father...Ultimately it is everything father's fault, isn't it?' Akashi thought with a slightly sad look in his eyes as he watched Esdeath's back leaving.
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Esdeath returned to one of the meeting rooms which was solely for her group to use.
"I am leaving the Capital. You are to stand by and wait until I return." Esdeath said with a decisive tone in front of 8 people.
3 of them were her old subordinates.
The other person was Bols wearing a mask who was transferred from the Incineration Squad to here.
Another person was someone who was already Akashi's acquaintance, Seryu.
Then, there was a young man with short dark blue hair named Wave. A young man with fair blond hair and golden eyes and delicate face named Run. And the last person was a man with spiky black hair with a white patch wearing a white lab coat named Dr. Stylish
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed with a surprised expression.
"B-But what about Night Raid?" Wave got up from his seat as he questioned.
"Yes, general, what about that ominous group of assassins?!" Seryu also got up, following Wave's example.
"Their movements are too unpredictable for us to track them down. They almost stopped performing assassinations ever since I have arrived at the Capital. We aren't getting anywhere and I have something important to do so all of you are free to train on your own but I advise you not to hunt them on your own...that's my warning. Do as you want as long as you won't cause any trouble. Esdeath explained before she turned around, showing that she wanted to leave immediately.
"E-Esdeath-sama, shall we accompany you?" Liver asked while kneeling down together with Nyau and Daidara.
"Hm? No, I want to go all alone, you are in command of my army until I return, Liver. Don't disappoint me by doing stupid decisions in my absence." Esdeath glanced at her subordinates before she ordered.
"Y-Yes!" Liver instantly replied although he was slightly disappointed that they couldn't accompany her.
'What could be so important for Esdeath-sama to go all alone?' Liver thought with a confused expression since everything happened so fast.
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'Looks like they are finally done...Perfect timing!' Akashi thought while getting ready to leave. Just a few minutes ago, Kiyomi came back to him with a message from Mera.
"Going somewhere?" Poney who suddenly barged into his study's room without even knocking asked with a curious expression.
"Yes, and I am leaving for at least 2 weeks." Akashi replied while dressing up his military coat, completely unbothered by Poney's sudden intrusion since he was already used to it.
"Wha-?! Why for so long? Where are you going? Can I go with you?" Poney immediately started bombarding him with questions.
"Ugh, one at the time, please... I can't really say where I am going since I am still not aware of that myself but I will be traveling to the south-west. As for why...because I can? Simply because in 2 weeks I will have my match against Esdeath so I want to get into perfect condition. And lastly...unfortunately you can't go with me, I need you to be here together with Kurome to receive any Akame's messages." Akashi groaned and quickly explained.
"...*sigh* Fine...But before you go, Akashi, umm, there is something I would like to talk about with you." Poney sighed out before she accepted while pouting a bit, then her expression changed as she began to embarrassingly look at the ground, avoiding Akashi's eyes.
'It must be about the thing that Esdeath mentioned...' Akashi thought and Poney took his silence as a sign she should continue.
"You see...I never knew you were interested in that...I previously thought that I had nothing to really hide but-" Poney started slowly explaining while fidgeting with her hands.
"It was Esdeath who walked in on you" Akashi bluntly interrupted her and said with a stoic expression.
"Huh?" Poney raised her head as she looked at Akashi with a blank expression.
They continued to stare at each other in silence for an almost entire minute before Poney just turned around and left the room with a robotic-like movement without saying anything.
'...Was what I have just done the right thing?' Akashi thought while staring strangely at the door.
Akashi decided to give Poney some time alone and went straight to the meeting point that was located only a few kilometers away from the Capital in the forest.
When he arrived at the place, he immediately noticed Mera and Taeko leaning against the tree.
"Akashi!" Taeko instantly bolted to Akashi when she noticed him. However, when she arrived in front of him, she suddenly turned nervous and had no idea what to do.
Akashi who noticed her hesitation smiled at her and looked over her shoulder at Mera who just quickly avoided eye contact. Sensing that getting too intimate with Taeko in front of Mera might cause Mera discomfort, he just tightly hugged Taeko and secretly planted a light kiss on her cheek.
"*It's nice to see you again but I guess we should keep ourselves in control, at least in front of Mera*" Akashi whispered in a teasing tone right into Taeko's ear.
"Mm" She just hummed in acknowledgment before resting her head on his chest with closed eyes.
'I will have to reveal the deal with Esdeath real soon...I hope Taeko will take it well or at least without any major problems...' Akashi thought while gently rubbing Taeko's back.