[Sheele's Pov]
Life was never easy for me.
Growing up in the lower districts of the capital of the Empire, from a young age, I struggled with tasks that seemed simple for others. Clumsiness followed me like a shadow and became a part of my daily life.
I would break dishes, trip over my own feet, and fail at even the most basic chores. Because of this, people saw me as a useless being, a burden, often calling me as 'the girl who had loose screws in her head,'.....and I believed them because I knew that I was not normal.
After a while, I noticed my parents began perceiving me as a liability, exacerbating their problems.
Fed up with being the object of others' scorn, I set out to find something I could confidently claim as my own talent.
As the years passed, none of the things I tried went in the right direction. I constantly faced terrible results in everything I attempted, which ultimately made me surrender and believe in my own worthlessness.
It was still hurtful to be an object of disdain, so I began to distance myself from others in order to find solace. It wasn't like others wanted to talk to me, so it was alright.
But then, amidst my dark world, a cheerful girl reached out to someone like me. She was kind, so much so that she continued to reach out despite my initial hesitation to meet her.
I was hesitant to talk to her because I was afraid... afraid that she would also treat me with scorn, like others once she fully got to know me.
But the girl was different from others. She persisted, appearing before me with her light brown hair and large expressive brown eyes.
She chatted with me, her cheerful personality and contagious smile slowly breaking through my defences.
Encouraged by her kindness, I began to break down the walls I had unintentionally constructed around myself and started to open up, little by little.
As the days passed, I became grateful to her, as she was the only one to whom I could express my emotions, which I had held in since my childhood.
She listened to me, never criticising or insulting me, letting me know that it was okay to be...different. That time with her was the only blissful memory in my mind and the only thing I liked about my life at that time.
Even though I remained clumsy and without any skills, being with her brought me moments of joy in an otherwise bleak life. It was a joyful feeling, giving me enough reason to live for another day.
But as people say, all good things must come to an end someday, and so did my blissful days.
.
I can still vividly remember the feeling of crimson wet blood on my skin, smeared all over me, and the sensation of slicing flesh as I watched the dimming eyes of the bulky man in the long coat in front of me.
The person whose throat I was splitting was none other than my friend's ex-boyfriend, whom she had dumped a week ago.
But one rainy day, when I was with her, he came to her house in a drunken rage and suddenly began to beat her, choking her neck.
The man was high on drugs, a maddening expression all over his face as he tried to snuff out my friend's life.
I was on the ground, having been pushed aside by him in his rage, but that was irrelevant to me at the time. Only one thought came to mind: "I must save my friend."
So I did. With a knife taken hastily from the kitchen, I slit his throat. The man had no opportunity to react; he was helpless.
I noticed that I was eerily calm, but I didn't put much thought into it at the time, as my sole focus was to kill that man.
The man died quickly, unable to even process how he died.
Feeling relieved, I moved my gaze to my friend to assure her, but she was looking at me not with relief, but with a fearful gaze as if she were looking at a.... monster.
She was shaking all over, staring at me and her dead ex-boyfriend's corpse, unable to utter a word.
That was the last time I saw her; she never wanted to see me again.
I was freed from all charges, as it was ruled an act of self-defence.
I thought it was all over with that incident, but that was my foolish thinking, as not long after that incident, a group of men appeared before me during my return trip from the market.
They said they were there to take revenge on me for the man I had killed.
It turns out the man I killed was the second-in-command of a local gang, and their boss had sent his men to kill me.
They laughed as they told me they had killed my parents and that I was next in line.
While they were telling this to me, surprisingly, my mind was again clear. I calmly unwrapped the cloth surrounding the kitchen knife I had brought from the market.
Dodging the first man's clumsy attack, I used the knife for self-defence, striking a vital spot near his chest and killing him instantly.
Using his body as a shield, I proceeded to kill the others one by one, not leaving a single one of them alive in just a few minutes.
After I killed them all, I finally understood that there was indeed a screw loose in my head, making me a very talented killer.
It was a dark realisation, but at that moment, I found out that I was exceptionally good at killing.
When I held a weapon, all my clumsiness disappeared. It was as if I was born for this purpose. In those moments, I felt powerful and in control, something I had never experienced before.
'I should get rid of all the trash in society, then I won't be considered useless by anyone,' I thought at that time.
So, I took on missions from common people who had been wronged, assassinating corrupt individuals in the capital. Later, I was offered a chance to join the Revolutionary Army for the same cause, and I accepted that offer.
After that, I was selected to be a member of a secret assassination unit under the great general Najenda who was also one of the main leaders of revolutionary forces.
Joining the Night Raid gave me a chance to use my skills for something meaningful. We were a group of assassins fighting against the oppressive empire, determined to bring justice to a corrupt world.
Night Raid became my new family, each member with their own tragic past and reasons for fighting.
Among them, Mine stood out to me. She was fierce and determined, with a sharp tongue that hid a compassionate heart. Despite our differences, we became close friends.
Mine saw beyond my past failures and believed in my abilities as an assassin. Her support meant everything to me, and I cherished our friendship deeply.
She evoked memories of my first friend, but I buried those thoughts to shield myself from being affected.
As the days passed by, every mission we undertook was a battle not just against our enemies, but also against the weight of our own pasts.
Then, one day, two new members joined the Night Raid, but both of them had different personalities.
But my first meeting with Bane was most memorable for me as I greeted him with my Extase, aiming to slice his head apart, if not for Najenda's interruption.
But since I had apologized to him and asked for his forgiveness, everything was alright, right?
Note- Some people may comment that I don't need to include the stories of other Night Raid members, similar to how Tatsumi's story was handled.
But let me tell you that I am writing this novel for everyone—those who have seen Akame ga Kill! and those who haven't. I've read fanfics before without knowing the original stories, and it was frustrating to miss out on fully enjoying the reading experience when the author didn't provide enough background on some characters.
If anyone has a problem with me writing their stories, you can wait for the next chapters. I just want this fiction to be enjoyable for everyone to read.
Thank you.