Chapter 24 – End of the Hunt
Kurome had just gotten her footing after slashing one of the Wild Hunt members in half. After asking [Name] about his wellbeing she grew a frighteningly crooked smile; not even allowing [Name] to answer. She rose from her kneeling position and swung her blade aside splattering blood off onto the cold dirt.
Kurome: You could've gotten hurt. Like poor Run over there. Are you okay?
She pointed at Run who'd just walked over to her.
With his face bruised and battered; he stood there with a smile. He nodded his head yes. He took quite the beating while he enacted his his plan to kill Maku. To Run it seemed worth it. Kurome cared for her teammates deeply as they did for her and for hurting them, the wild hunt will die.
Run: Kurome? Wave? How are you here?
Wave and Kurome responded at the same exact time.
Both: We followed you.
They both said to Kurome's annoyance, she shot him a glare and he sheepishly backed off.
Kurome: We were at that bar that [Name] went into. So we followed him to see where he'd go and look who came along.
She said gesturing a finger at Run.
Run: These are the demons in charge of the murder a day ago. I had to find them at any cost.
Wave inside Grand Chariot swirled his own blade skillfully and eyed every one of his combatants. He then saw Syura. His rage then amplified remembering the reason they went to the bar in the first place; to drink and hopefully take his mind off of this man. This scum of the earth, rapist, murderer. If there was any person he'd take pleasure in killing it would be him. And what was suprising to him was at least the Nightraid had morals.
Run: Son of the Prime Minister, I swear that in the name of the empire. I WILL BRING YOU DOWN!
Syura: What a freakin bore! Guys KILL EM!
Kurome had then raised her blade to the heavens and purple to black lightning was conjured. The sword was swarmed in lightning as two beings rose from the dirt below. [Name] had recognized two of them. One was Doya and the other was Natala.
Yatsufusa
Doya quickly began to shoot bullet after bullet toward Syura as he Shamballa'd each of the bullets away. She blitzed Cosmina as the others had commenced the battle.
Wave quickly smashed Izou to the ground with a judo like slam and nearly cratered the ground. Kurome had made sure to head for Cosmina after Syura had disappeared and she attacked her without rest.
[Name] stood in front of Rita who'd have yet to move.
Rita: If my status is to be preserved, my only choice is to kill you.
[Name]: I don't take that threat lightly.
Rita: You weren't supposed to.
He then got into a very strange on guard position as his slowly moved closer to [Name]. [Name] took no time to rush in and slash for his head. Rita parried with a massive swing. With sharp whistle of steel in the air; the force of the blow sent [Name] flying meters back.
Rita continued and swung his large blade in a downward position, [Name] dodged instead of blocking. Rita then kicked as that too sent [Name] flying backwards again. This time the force of the blow sent him slamming his chest on the ground and winding him.
[Name]: I can't beat him blade to blade he's too strong.
[Name] jumped up to his feet and used the power of Ra once more.
Purgatory's Invitation: Rubicante
[Name] puffed his cheeks and blew a colossal ball of flames. It lit up the entire area as he aimed his blaze at his opponent. [Name] couldn't see Rita as he was consumed by the flames, he'd won. However, he felt an incredible pain reach his abdomen. Rita had tanked the entire attack and speed blitzed straight through. He'd driven his elbow deep into [Name]'s gut and continued with a ground shattering right hook. [Name] recovered and grabbed it and the two locked hands.
Rita: Submit to the empire!
[Name]: Not what I had in mind!
Rita broke off and once again raised his oversized broad sword above his head. He went for a vertical slash as [Name] had no choice but to block by holding his own sword horizontally with one hand on the hilt and the other on the end of the sword's tip. For whatever reason, [Name]'s augmented strength is being tested by this man. The ethereal energy should be far more than enough to overpower almost anyone. It could be that this man had augmented his own strength somehow.
As [Name] battled Rita, Kurome had her hands full with Cosmina who had used waves of concentrated sound as Kurome had dodged as she ran to her. Kurome then smelled it in the air, Cosmina was scared. She had begun to tremble only a slight bit as continued to send wave after wave. It was like mini earth-quake as Kurome jumped off the newly created boulders which arose from the ground.
Cosmina with sweat pouring down her face knew what was coming. She dropped her guard as she either attempted to get away or tried to get zoning distance, it didn't matter to Kurome. She launched off one of the tallest rocks and sliced clean through the half of Comsina's head horizontally.
Nothing remained from the jaw up. Her tongue wagged, blood squired from the spot like a grotesque fountain, and her fingers curled up and reached at the head no longer there through nerves. As the blood ejected in all directions, Kurome's face grew a smile and she raised her hands as if she were awaiting snow fall. Kurome never thought she'd have this much funso soon.
On Wave's front, he saw success. He was single handedly decimating the reappearing Syura and Izou by his lonesome. Smashing them through boulders, he further punished them with powerful staff strikes. Champ attempted to use his own Imperial arms Ace Solution: Die Leaguer. Before he could even use it, he was rushed. Run attacked Champ with a series of extremely powerful strikes and hadn't relented. He then swept champ and sent him tumbling to the cold dirt.
Run extended his white feathered wings and flew into the path of the moon. He extended both hands while proclaiming
Run: Raping and murdering the innocent are unforgivable crimes. THEY ARE SINS WORTHY OF DEATH!
He readied what seemed to be thousands of needle tipped feathers, after a second he pointed them downward and they raced to their target. Champ's eyes dilated in fear and raised a hand as if to plead for mercy.
Feathers of Judgement!
In moments, they were sent down and looked like a beautiful rain of glass. The moon light shined off the flurry as they shredded Champ's flesh. His skin was being torn to shreds as the feathers splattered the contents of his body over the rocky lands in which they fought.
[Name] had maneuvered his blade in such a way where his obsidian blade cut clean through Rita's blade! Rita looked at his two halves in shock, as [Name] did a skillful twirl; Rita could only look as only a second later was slashed across the throat.
Rita saw his ambitions flow from him. As his blood sprayed free from him, he suddenly felt at peace. His limbs went numb as his dropped to his knees. He pondered how his Shingu was cut in half by a mere weapon. Whoever crafted it must've had godlike precision, precision that got him killed. Upon facing his death, he stared upward into the stars above and fell over death; his eyes open.
Syura and Izou were now back to back as [Name] and the rest of the Jaegers had surrounded them.
Kurome: I want you both alive so that the General can torture you.
Syura gritted his teeth in anger. His entire team save for one person were killed tonight. He needs to fallback. He held out both hands, and pulled out his imperial arms.
Before they could even so much as flinch. They were surrounded by the purple glow of a circle. With another overwhelming flash of light Syura and Izou had vanished. [Name] and the rest of the Jaegers had shielded their eyes from the close flash.
[Name] upon realizing the fight was truly over had depowered his Teigu mode. He felt as though his muscles were screaming in pain and gritted his teeth as Syura had done only moments earlier, only this time in pain.
Kurome had then walked over to him and slapped him on the back.
[Name]: AAAHH!
He screamed as though he'd been stabbed. Kurome only looked on his with wonder as she removed her hand.
Kurome: What's your problem?
[Name]: Oh nothing.
He said as he tried to form a smile through his teeth.
Wave: It's good that we found you when we did. Who knows if you two would've been able to fight all of them of on your own.
Run had flown down from the sky and retorted to Wave's statement.
Run: Indeed, we're quite gracious. We need to report this to the General at once. [Name], We're going to need you.
He said while glancing over at [Name].
[Name]: I can't. . . .not right now.
Wave: Well [Name], We kinda can't just let you go. You'll be a deserter, we're at war right with the revolution and Night raid is gaining more and more ground. If you were with us during their attack on the path of peace we might've won!
He said whilst clenching his fist. [Name] realized that while Wave is a laid back, gentle, and enthusiastic person; he is still a soldier of empire. Not only that he's a loyal one at that. It seems right about now he too has had enough with [Name] being on the edge of the empire's will. Wave is slowly becoming frustrated with not only [Name], but by the way everything is unfolding. [Name] had to answer carefully.
[Name]: I understand. But I need you guys to vouch for me this last time. I have to finish off my training outside of the capital to be of full use to you guys.
Wave: What training are you talking about?! If I heard right, General Esdeath said she'll teach you from the ground up. You'd be almost unstoppable with training like hers.
[Name]: I can assure you mine is better.
He said while walking away in another direction.
Wave: How can we even be sure you'll come back!
[Name]: You just need to trust me on this one.
Wave: [Name] Come on!
Run had then placed a hand in front of Wave to stop any potential aggressions whether they be physical or mentally. Wave then calmed noticing that he was being somewhat hostile with his vocal tone.
Run: Let him go. There's nothing we can do here. Remember what the General's orders were.
[Name]: I'll be back. . . I promise.
As he walked away Wave had walked off and so had Run. [Name] was preparing to call his steed to head back to the Nightraid to complete part of his plan. He needed this in order to complete his objective. To create a safer place for Kasumi; whom he's sure is still alive. Him having to find her first and that might be an arduous task to do that at the moment. He needs to complete his training, return to the empire, eliminate the every single imperial official alive, and find Kasumi. He cannot do this alone. So for now he needs to join them. But even with something like this, he still doesn't know what to do exactly.
"So where are really headed?"
He looked behind his shoulder and saw Kurome close to him with an intensive look. Her look wasn't aggressive nor authoritative, she just wanted to know for herself.
Kurome: Are you going back to meet with my sister?
[Name] should've known she'd deduce this somehow. Him lying now would only make things much worse, she apparently can trust him enough to ask him if he were a terrorist.
[Name]: Maybe.
Kurome smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
Kurome: I figured you played both sides.
[Name]: Even if I am, you've got no proof. Were you going to tell on me?
Kurome: Maybe. As of about right now I could easily assume you're really with the revolution, especially since you aren't going to tell me where you're going.
[Name] then sheathed his blade and smiled back at her.
[Name]: Assume what you want Kurome. But If you did tell on me, I'd have to kill you.
Kurome: Don't tempt me.
[Name] then began to walk away from the Jaegers slowly but still looking back at them.
[Name]: As they say, the less you know; the better.
As he began to finally leave Kurome had begun to speak again.
Kurome: Oh [Name]?
[Name] stopped in his tracks to hear her final words.
Kurome: I still like you, I like you a lot. But if I see you again and you aren't Jaegers; I'll kill you.
[Name] only kept going, intentionally not acknowledging her promise. Before completing his departure, he strode past Cosmina's corpse that Kurome had drawn in half. This isn't good, [Name] thought. The Jaegers have grown tired of [Name]'s escapades outside of the capital. He needs to hurry up and finish his training, or else.
Unknown Dirt Plains – Mid Night
[Name] thought about his place in the empire and what he should do. Should he go to Nightraid and forsake any potential role he could have in the empire? He could be with Tatsumi and the others and maybe Akame who's somewhat harmed up to him. He could live a life of restructuring things within the new order of things, but that's if the Nightraid won. What if he joined the empire? He'll have money, his skill will get him a high rank, he'll have it made if he turned on and smashed Nightraid.
Then there was Esdeath. The Ice queen who loved him, or at least he's being led to believe. So far she's gave him shelter, food, armor, warmth, and compassion. On one hand she's smart, compassionate, beautiful, strong, and is very capable in any situation. On the other hand, Esdeath also promised unconditional love, and even a family. But at what cost? She's maniacal, twisted, self-righteous, abusive, and bigoted. No matter what, if It came down to it. He could try to make it work, maybe it won't be that bad.
As he drifted in and out of sleep, he rode his dark steed rather slowly. This was mostly the horses doing, simply because it knows [Name] is quite tired. Having slept only a few hours in a span of a week, [Name]'s energy levels are rather low. He needs to sleep and he needs to eat. He hasn't done either for some time, not to mention the Teigu form that has also taken considerable amounts of energy away from him also. He was falling asleep on the horse, so in turn it decided to go slower.
While it is an animal, it still was very considerate. He then seen another horse; white in color; galloping towards him. There was also a person mounting it.
[Name]: I really hope this person isn't trying to fight me.
?: HEEYY!
The person screamed from afar. The voice was rather high pitched, so it was a woman. She neared him so he slowed down. As she came closer he saw one of the most beautiful woman he'd seen. A platinum to silver haired woman in dark green grabs was the rider. Her eyes a pure white, but not frighteningly so. She was entrancingly beautiful; an almost stunned [Name] had greeted her with a blushed smile.
[Name]: Can I help you with you something?
?: You are [Name] right?
[Name]: Yes, I am.
?: Great, Come with me!
The woman said as she almost rode away.
[Name]: Hold on mam, I don't even know you. Who are you and why do you want me to follow you? How do you even know about me?!
She then turned around and laughed slightly.
Nora: I'm Nora and I think I can help you out.
[Name]: With?
Nora: Everything? Look, I can explain things to you when we back to the school.
[Name] weighed his options. He can either stay out here, in the cold, starving, and tired. If he lowballed his luck Esdeath might actually find him again if he did. On another note he can sleep well, eat, and have some time to think. And to [Name] this is starting to bring back some bad memories, like with Princess Uta. But there's no way possible things can get that bad again. He'll just run for the hills if he were to see anything were to set off. So, he followed her with only one intention in mind; to get somewhere to sleep.
Hidden Nightraid Fortress – Mid Night
Najenda, a very agitated Najenda had just woken up at the middle of the night. Sitting up in her comfortable sheeting, heard nothing but shuffling in the kitchen. As she blocked the shining moonlight out from her vision with her hand, she had gotten up and gently walked down stairs to see the cause of the noise.
Making her way down the stairs she saw the light of the refrigerator illuminating the kitchen. She then saw a woman's panty covered butt wagging back and forth from the inside of said fridge. The woman then shut the fridge and revealed herself to be Akame, who emerged with a mouth stuffed with a pastry. Arms filled with more goodies, Najenda only smiled to see her comrade.
Najenda: More mid night snacking Akame?
Akame then chewed and swallowed until none of the sweet dough protruding from her mouth appeared.
Akame: Yes. I thought I'd have seconds for desert tonight.
She said while chomping down on another pastry, but this time getting icing all over her lips.
Najenda: Is my decision to storm the capital bothering you any?
The red eyed girl swallowed yet another doughnut before answering.
Akame: No, If anything it fills me with anticipation. Just one more month. Thirty days. Then it's all over for one of us. It's either the empire or us at this point.
Najenda: It's do or die.
The Nightraid has been on quite the great spree of luck. Just yesterday Chelsea and Lubbock went on a successful assassination mission. Mine had just sniped an imperial official the other day. Tatsumi helped storm and raid an imperial outpost that was well protected. There hadn't been much for Leone, Akame, and Susanoo but that isn't much of a problem at all. Najenda then thought as she and Akame spoke, How good of an asset would that [Name] really be?
He's off all the time. How reliable can he be like that? The last mission he was taken on was the mission to the red empire, and he choked. It could've costed them everything, but then again [Name] is a changed man and has been on the inside while giving them reliable info on the state of the empire. He could still be very useful in very other ways. She'd forgotten to bring up the point during the meeting before dinner. Whether or not he should be sought after is should definitely be a topic worthy of concern brought up to the revolution.
But right about now, she can ask Akame. So she will.
Najenda: I have something to ask you.
After had eaten yet enough jelly filled pastry. Akame whipped her face clean and became receptive to the question. But that didn't make her stop eating as she bit into another sugary doughnut.
Najenda: Do you think we should seek [Name] out?
Akame had stopped chewing, but after a few moments later began to swallow.
Akame: I think he'd be a tremendous addition to the revolution. Though, finding him would be an issue. Plus, he seems to be rather occupied doing something else. If his loyalties aren't in place at the right time, he might mess up and that could spell the end of us all. But regardless, of even that I'd rather have him on our side.
Najenda took everything she said into definite consideration. Now to discuss it with everyone else at a later time.
Najenda: You've certainly turned a new leaf on [Name] Akame. What on earth did he tell you when you guys spoke?
Akame: He didn't say anything worthy of note.
She said in her typical stoic tone of voice. She then continued to devour the mounds cookies she'd just dug into. Najenda smiled, she then began to walk away and to her room but she spoke as she left.
Najenda: I see, Well I came to see who was up this late and I got my answer.
Akame: Goodnight Najenda.
Najenda left with a wave as she went back, leaving Akame to eat more. Najenda thought more, will Nightraid claim [Name]? Or will they just continue as planned? It's a tough decision, one she'll just have to sleep on. But there was something else that caught her eye. Even while Akame was stuffing her face while they're talking, Akame had paused at one moment. Najenda had noticed something interesting; that when she mentioned [Name] to Akame, the red eyed woman had blushed.