Disclaimer: All characters from Akame ga Kill that appear in this fanfic rightfully belong to Takahiro. I do not own anything; I have Takahiro to thank for that.

Author's Notes: Ahh, I'm ashamed that this has taken soooo long. Things just kept popping up for me and I had other things to prioritized. And then there's the writer's block… Regardless, I apologize for this delay and thank you everyone for being so patient.

Dracus6: So far, no one from this timeline has all the memories of the previous timeline. Even Akame herself is left with bits of scattered memories that are only jogged whenever some event comes up. However, Esdeath and Tatsumi have both shown to have had dreams about the original timeline (the anime one). Who knows, maybe the latter will end up recalling more in the future.

Ultimatrix bearer: Yep, I just had to insert that homage there. It was a hilarious comment she made in the manga after all and I thought that little interaction between her and Chelsea was nice. Well, depending on your tastes, it can either be nightmare fueled or wish fulfillment. In Yukio's case, I think dealing with one Akame is already a handful for him. XD

Guest: Ah, that's a very insightful question there. The answer is here in this chapter. ;)

SeihoTheNeko: Thank you for being so patient with me and your support is very encouraging. Haha, I really do love how closely you've been paying attention to all the little details. You may be more on point than you think and I hope that this chapter did confirm/deny your speculations.

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(In my haste to get this chapter to you all, it has not been betaread)

Chapter 34— Kill the Doppelganger

"Don't cry, destroy these imprisoned illusions.

Just once, rise above your demise.

Hold on to the unfulfilled promises into your heart.

And stirs the deep, deep red!"

-Katayoku no Tori (Umineko no Naku Koro ni OP)

Location: Imperial Palace (Hidou's Bedroom). Time: Night. Year: 1024 (Day 117).

Hidou was taking a sip of red wine from his glass when a clamorous and distinctive sound of the signal flare that he had invented for the occasion shook the night. The corner of his lips curled into a dervish smirk. He stood up from his chair, placing his drink down onto the nearby table. His sapphire orbs gazed at the half-opened window with growing exhilaration as he beheld the trail of sparkling residues left from the flare.

Night Raid's inaction for the past few weeks had been a nagging concern. It had been a waiting game and patience was never part of his forte. Had the assassins continued to remain inactive, then chances were he would've to make alternations to his grand scheme. Falling back onto his backup plans was something he always loathed, especially after taking into consideration all the different possibilities. But at times, reality just loved to twist the perfection that was crafted inside his brain and generate contradictions to troll him.

Thus, his excitement shot up to the roof as Night Raid made their well-timed appearance. Any longer and he might've given up. Now everything would continue as he had planned, as he wanted.

'It's time to pluck the owl's feathers one by one.' His menacing grin grew, threatening to split his face into two.

He was left in no doubt that his two collaborators would have noticed the signal and took action as per his wishes. Faith was not a quality he possessed, though he had analyzed enough about those two – his specifically selected and recruited allies – to know that they would get their respective jobs done. All he had to do was make his appearance at the right moment.

While Hidou marveled at his scheming abilities, Mamoru gave a brisk warning to Mariko to stay put inside the house before departing their house with his customary indifference. Simultaneously, a young man with tan skin detached himself from the woman on his bed. Taking a glimpse of the outside through the slit of the curtains with his bright green orbs, he made an audible grunt before grabbing the pendent-like object on the table and the clothes that were left discarded on the floor. He then left, but not before snapping the neck of the toy that he had grown bored of.

Location: An alleyway near The Modus Operandi (in the Capital). Time: Night. Year: 1024 (Day 117).

As a member of a group that wielded relics with surreal abilities, Leone could boast that she was no stranger to peculiar phenomena. But even she was baffled by the sight before her, to the point that she believed that her optics was playing a trick on her. Dangerous as it was to do so on the battlefield, she rubbed her eyes with her paws. When her vision refocused though, the scene before her did not change—

—Two Akame stood in the alleyway, their swords crisscrossing as they attempted to overpower each other.

"Your surprise attack has failed so there is no reason to keep the disguise. Reveal your true self," the Akame donned in a cloak demanded, her voice somewhat strained due to their test of strength. Sparks flew from the scraping metals and she narrowed her pair of rubies.

The doppelganger realized that it was futile to continue the stalemate. Of course they would be evenly matched, with neither of them being capable of overpowering the other. So she leaped back to distance herself and permitted the visual deception to fade away. True to her original's words, there was no reason to maintain the disguise any longer. Her body flickered in and out of existence for a few seconds like a mirage in the scorching desert. It wasn't long until her form settled with the same physique and appearance but with some minor changes – her black-themed attire was replaced by the color white and in the place of Murasame was a similar-looking katana but a golden hilt.

Although this was the second time she had seen her opponent's true form, Akame's eyebrows inadvertently knitted tighter together as she held Murasame in a defensive position. Her eyes were drawn towards the very familiar weapon in her clone's possession.

Kiriichimonji – one of the Shingu created by the Imperial researchers who had hoped to recreate the powers of the Teigu. In the end, all they managed to create were "defects" inferior to the relics that they were trying to surpass.

As much as she wanted to reject the blade's existence with the recollection that it had been snapped into two during her fight with Gozuki, the fact that it was glistening right before her served to remind her that there were things about this timeline that had diverged from the one she originated from.

Akame's grip on Murasame tightened.

While comparatively weaker than her current weapon, to underestimate Kiriichimonji would be the last mistake one could make. The raven-haired assassin knew that well, especially since the constant dull ache in her right leg was reinforcing how lethal the ability to inflict permanent wounds was.

"Leone, are you alright?" Without daring to take her sight off her doppelganger, she kept her head fixed up ahead while utilizing her opponent's inaction to speak with the dumbfounded woman. She would need the blonde out of her daze, particularly considering that a signal had just been sounded. No doubt that someone powerful was coming over here. That was most likely why her enemy was in no rush to conclude their fight. Given that Night Raid was in the enemy's home turf, all her doppelganger needed to do was keep them in one place.

"Wh-what is going on here? You're the real Akame, right? Why are there two of you? And did she just change clothes out of— owww!" The jabbing agony from her abdomen halted her questions. While Leone had sustained far more serious wounds before, this time it was very different. It astounded her when blood continuously seeped out from the cut as though her blood vessels were burst drain pipes. Compressing the injury with her paw did nothing and her regenerative power hadn't triggered either. 'Dammit. At this rate, I'll slowly bleed to death.'

"Did you get cut?" It might have been voiced as a question but the raven-haired assassin's tone sounded severe and convinced. Since she hadn't taken a glimpse at her best friend, the assumption was made based on the woman's pained hiss and the copper-like smell that she could just catch a whiff of. "Cut out the skin surrounding the wound. Make it larger."

"Hey, I'm no masochist! I don't have a strange hobby like that!" Leone protested, feeling like she was stuck in some sort of weird dream. Had she lost so much blood that even her beast-like ears were playing tricks on her?

"That wound won't close by normal means. Kiriichimonji is—" Akame's explanation was cut short when her double did the one thing she hadn't expected her to do. Cautious not to expose her back, the doppelganger leaped backward onto the rooftop before making a rapid escape. Confusion kept Akame rooted for a millisecond, until the escapee passed a look at her with those same orbs that dripped with the color of blood. Nothing was spoken, though the Night Raider instinctively understood the message her copy wanted to convey; she wanted her to follow her to a place where they would settle their differences. Perchance it was because they were fundamentally the same that Akame could tell that this wasn't a trap, especially since she and Leone were the ones at a disadvantage.

The urge to give chase grew but was then compressed by logic. Since it was a personal matter, an action prompted by the heart, Akame knew that she was under no obligation to resolve her copy's inner conflict that had once deeply troubled her. Bring salvation – even for herself – was not her role. Still, the last traces of her reluctance were swept aside at the realization that her replica shouldn't be allowed to roam free any longer. Despite her exceptional instincts, Leone had fallen for the deception. Akame would be a fool to permit the clone to continue deceiving her teammates.

Her mind was decided… or it would have, if not for one last reservation.

Lowering her weapon, she crouched next to Leone in a heartbeat. Perhaps it was because the woman was still perplexed by what was going on because the raven-haired girl could effortlessly pull the hand that was on her abdomen away to take a look at the gruesome cut.

"Leone, hurry!" Akame said, her tone urgent. "Your Lionelle's effect is being hindered. You must cut through the flesh surrounding the wound."

"…Alright, Akame. But if this doesn't work as you say, I'm totally gonna haunt you as a ghost," Leone gave a dry chuckle, choosing to abandon caution in favor of heeding Akame's advice. Bracing for the pain, she dug her claw into her flesh and made an even bloodier mess. At first, it seemed like a horrible mistake. Crimson liquid oozed out like rivulets and the pain was so unbearable that it squeezed a soft cry out of her. But then Lionelle's ability finally kicked in and steadily clogged the blood.

"It's closing. You did good, Leone." Although Akame's monotone might have suggested otherwise, the glimmer of relief in her crimson orbs told Leone about the fear that she had kept unspoken – the fear of having arrived too late to save a comrade… again.

"Damn, that hurts. She got me by total surprise. But don't worry, old pal. Lionelle is working a miracle now, probably to repent for all the slacking off earlier," Leone commented casually, trying to swatter away the girl's concern. She wasn't exaggerating about her Teigu's effect though; little by little, she was recovering her strength. Nonetheless, the healing wasn't instantaneous like it usually was. It was at that point the blonde realized how deadly the faker's weapon was. Although it wasn't the one slice certain kill Murasame, one cut would be adequate to leave its victims slowly bleeding to death. That katana, along with the skills that its wielder had shown when she was trying to cut her down, brought about waves of uneasiness. The usually fearless woman felt the emergence of a shudder at the recollection, though she suppressed it.

"Don't push yourself," said Akame, in an admonishing way that made Leone look as though she was the younger one out of them.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. You're the one who instructed me to stick a hand into my wound. You telling me not to push it now is just pushing my buttons." Frankly, Leone wouldn't mind starting a banter with the girl, though the current situation demanded she set her priorities straight. "But hey, you better go catch that imposter. Take her down before she can pull the same stun again. I know you want to settle this. Give me a few minutes and I'll be up."

"Alright… But once you've recovered enough, you needn't follow me. Be sure to go into hiding. That was a signal flare she ignited. We don't have long before this place gets surrounded." When Leone responded with a thumbs up and a cocky grin, the red-eyed assassin bent her knees and took to the roof using a nearby wooden crate as a platform.

Even before her boots found the tiles, her eyes were already darting around and securing her target's location. To the north of her, three houses apart, was the easily spotted figure in white. Two pairs of crimson orbs – each filled with different beliefs – locked for the second time in the moonlit night before the killer carrying Kiriichimonji took off.

'She was waiting for me, to lead me away from Leone.' Her assumption was correct; her doppelganger did wish to settle this one on one, undisturbed by anyone else.

Heeding her heart, Akame followed with Murasame in her left hand.

Location: Tonto' Curio Shop. Time: Night. Year: 1024 (Day 117).

Some claimed that alcohol could erase any trepidation but Tonto couldn't disagree more. No matter how much he drank, he was still haunted by the sinful deeds of his past. Hammering the empty bottom down onto his table, he couldn't resist the growing fear that troubled his mind, to an extent that he could no longer concentrate. He had thought he had overcome the trifles of his conscience by redeeming himself through assisting others. He had believed that his mind was strong enough to get rid of those memories. But try as he might, he could not forget the condemnable sins he had committed.

Wasn't he a reformed man now?

"Gaah… I'm an honest man… I even donated my money. S-so why…?" His shaky hands found their way towards his head, grasping onto his temples. "Why is my past coming back to haunt me…? I've made up for my mistakes! My past sins are forgiven aren't they?"

"No, they aren't. But because the heavens are blind, we've come to deliver the judgment instead." His eyes snapping open at the unfamiliar male voice, he promptly swung his head around. Standing behind his couch were two unwanted guests. Although it was dark in his apartment, he could see a teenager with dark unruly hair. Even before he pulled out the duel-axes he kept strapped onto his back, Tonto knew he was hungry for blood as the glower he pitted at him was brimming with the intent to kill.

The teenager's company was easy to recognize. Sheele of Night Raid, with her shoulder-length purple hair and a pair of large rimmed glasses. Although she was holding onto a kitchen knife, her professionalism as a killer made the weapon appear as menacing as the twin axes.

"Stay a-away from m-me!" Terror drove Tonto to sprint for the closest drawer. He was no fool; he knew that to receive a visit from Night Raid was akin to having a grim reaper hanging above you with its scythe raised. Clutching onto his last hope, he whipped out the handgun he had stored in his drawer. It had been ages since he wielded the weapon, though his body remembered exactly how to fire a bullet into someone's skull. He unclipped the safety catch, pivoted his legs, and pulled the trigger.

He fired, again and again.

"Dammit! Why does he have a gun stashed in there of all things?" Ieyasu grumbled as he and Sheele took cover from behind the sofa.

The ferocious rain of pellets blitzed the soft furniture and the Night Raiders could only hope that their shelter could endure the intense abuse. Without Extase, there wasn't the option of a full-frontal assault. There was no choice but to wait; a pistol could only do so much consecutive firing.

A few more consecutive shots and then silence…

In that split second, Sheele launched into a quick counterattack by flipping the couch over. Contrary to what her slender built suggested, she possessed the power to swing the heavy Extase around as though it was as light as a feather. As if bent on revenge, the couch slammed into the person that had been responsible for the holes in its padding.

Before he could react, Tonto found something hard crashed into his body, generating an impact that rattled all of his bones. He was trapped, with his back pressed against the drawer and his front squashed by his hole-riddled couch.

His killers approached him, with their weapons drawn. They were the last things he laid his terror-filled eyes on before his head detached from his body and hit the floor.

Location: Tonto' Curio Shop. Time: Night. Year: 1024 (Day 117).

Yukio sucked in a low breath, drawing in air from the slits on his mask. Acting as a watchman, he was crouched low on a rooftop where he could get a clear view of their target's shop and the streets below. Anxiety gathered inside his stomach and he had to resist the urge to barge into the now eerily quiet store.

Yukio clutched and unclutched his free hand as the other held onto the pair of binoculars he had borrowed from Mine. Despite all his training, he was feeling on edge.

The clamorous ruckus of gun fires that had resonated from the shop was so alarming that the young man anticipated the whole neighborhood to stir. Much to his surprise, the streets remained empty. Not even the usual patrols from the Imperial police were taking place. Such oddity made him nervous.

'Was that signal flare the cause?' he wondered.

The fact that someone had lit the heavens ablaze in the middle of the night was a terrifying thought, especially when his teammates were out there somewhere. In spite of the potential danger, Yukio's group had decided that while it was a cause for more caution, there wasn't any need to retreat immediately. They couldn't permit their target to escape now that they had done some investigating and inquiring – which had taken up the entire day – to prove that he was indeed guilty. With Ieyasu insisting on finishing the job and rushing in, and Sheele following out of concern, the young man decided to play it safe and stay out here on the lookout, lest the Imperial force made a move to surround them. He did not a repeat of what happened with Zank the executioner.

Just when he was about to convince himself to relax a little, as it was pointless to become restless while nothing was actually happening, something actually happened.

Yukio widened his eyes and then squinted. Two blurs were hopping from one rooftop to the next from a street away. They had gone by so fast that the young assassin dropped his binoculars and ripped the mask off his face to get a better look. By then, the figures had already disappeared from view, though Yukio did catch glimpses of the lush raven hair that fluttered underneath the moonlit heavens before then.

Those tresses, as dark as a raven, swung in a way that was always spellbinding for him. The next set of beats from his heart became erratic. Only one person could so effortlessly do that to him.

'Akame…? And Akame… huh? Wait! What?!' His brain jammed at that instance. Taken up by disbelief, he was left in a stupor until he caught something small from his peripheral vision. Had it not been for the fact that it was heading in the same direction that Yukio saw the two Akames going, then he wouldn't have given it a second thought. But since he did, he was able to make out what appeared to be a moving furball with six legs. Its compound eyes were juniper green and so large that not only were they a tenth its body size, but Yukio was certain that it had noticed his scrutiny. It did not linger though and was soon out of his range of sight.

'That is… a Fantomu!' The blanks that his visuals couldn't provide him were filled in by his memories. He knew about this creature from the record book in the Imperial palace, the one that detailed all known Danger Beasts. No larger than a cat, the yellow furry creature had no mouth and had eyes that could pierce one's soul. Capable of reading minds and communicating via telepathy, Fantomu was classified as an ultra-class Danger Beast not for its raw power, but for how easily it could toy with a human's mind, making them see and believe things that weren't even remotely logical. Thus, its eyes were the perfect material to synthesis the Teigu, Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator. Insight, Future Sight, Farsight, Illusion Sight and Clearsight — the abilities that had given him so much trouble when fighting with Zank were only a fragment of Fantomu's capabilities.

At his musings lingered on the Teigu and the Danger Beast, Yukio felt his brain exploded with a massive headache. Images of the past shuffled through his mind's eyes, with scenes of the same timeframe but featuring different events flashing by. Colliding with each other, the images sought to gain dominancy in his recollection and it was their incompatibility that nearly drove him onto his knees, with his hands clutching onto his head.

The first that played revolved around his fight with The Three Beasts.

Reckless as it was, he drove forward to catch the falling Incursio. He recalled looping his fingers around the relic before hitting the cold waters.

Being reckless was the last thing he was doing. Without any energy left, he laid sprawled on the deck with the wounds he had suffered from fighting with the Three Beasts when Liver smashed a foot into his ribs and knocking him off the Ryuusen.

Next came several disarrayed pictures that left his mouth hanging open in a silent cry.

He happened to stumble across Akame, donned in white and whose face was concealed with a white mask. Before he knew what was happening, he was knocked out— and when he came to, his entire world was engulfed in utter pain. Later, he was freed on Hidou's command…

The encounter with Akame never happened and neither did the torture he had suffered in the hands of the Empire. He had woken up in an alleyway, having collapsed from underestimating the extent of his injuries from the Three Beasts. Picking himself from the ground, he returned to the hideout and met up with Leone. All the while his mind persuaded him to ignore the uneasy feeling of someone watching him.

"Shit… All this time." As uncharacteristic as it was, Yukio felt Mine's influence take hold and he let out an expletive with gritted teeth. Hunched over, he wrapped his arms around himself protectively and rubbed his limbs as though that would erase the goosebumps that were emerging. 'This is why I hate Spectator so much! All this time, it was manipulating my memories, using me… and that Akame too… So that's why there're two of them! Dammit!'

Delving deeper into the memory was only going to exacerbate his headache. Moreover, it brought him unbridled fear; he was terrified of the truth, of all the torment that he had to endure and all the injuries that he was made to believe were the result of his clash with The Three Beasts. But in reality, they were—

'No! Don't think about that now! I need to focus on what matters right now. There's a fake Akame on the loose, an illusion created by Fantomu. If only I knew what the object it used to base the illusion on was...' Directing all his attention on Akame's duplicate, Yukio abandoned protocol in his haste and took off to pursue his mentor, her fake, and the cursed creature that was responsible for all of this.

3 days left until Tatsumi and Esdeath's wedding!

Night Raid Members Remaining: 10

Mission: Eliminate Tonto, the owner of a curio shop

Participating Members: Sheele, Ieyasu, and Yukio

Result: Targets Eliminated

Rewards: Unknown

The Four Present in the Capital: 4

The Jaegers Members Remaining: 6

Usually, this section is dedicated to recapitulating the relevant plot events. This time, however, I'll be spending some time to go over Hidou's plan and how everything has been playing out thus far. For those of you who wish to check over your speculations, here is your chance!

-In chapter 5, it was mentioned that Hidou was doing research on Danger Beasts in the west. There, he actually managed to find and tame the ultra-class Danger Beast, Fantomu, to do his bidding. This is lampshaded in chapter 24 during the conversation between Doctor Stylish and Hidou.

-The Akame in chapter 21, the one who attacked Yukio, was indeed an illusion created by Fantomu. How (and why) exactly that illusion is created will be revealed soon, though Yukio's monologue at the end of this chapter does lay out the foundations.

-Chapter 24 showed Hidou giving rise to a scheme that would get rid of both Night Raid and Doctor Stylish. By letting Yukio go, he prompted Stylish to track the young man down in haste, which ultimately led to the doctor's death. All the while, Fantomu implanted false memories into Yukio so that he would not recall his capture. In a sense, it did help save the young assassin's sanity. (Probably not something he would fondly recall once he has the time for reflections).

-Remember when Akame took off after Stylish's defeat in chapter 29? That was due to sensing her doppelgänger's presence, as Hidou had ordered Fantomu to replace the two Akame somehow so that there would be a mole in Night Raid.

-In chapter 30, it was hinted that the two fought and the real Akame fell down a cliff. That flashback was actually given her Akame's POV. It was after that point that the switch took place, with the doppelgänger pretending to have amnesia to avoid being identified as a fake.

-Note mentioning that Fantomu used something as the basis when creating the Akame illusion. Thus, her memories were limited. Even when later on, the creature wasn't able to perfectly replicate an Akame that Night Raid knew despite having some access to Yukio's mind (hence all the mild headaches from the young man). This is because Yukio himself doesn't know how Akame interacted with the rest of Night Raid prior to his recruitment.

-Chapter 31 showed Hidou using Stylish's death and Mariko's health as leverage against Mamoru so that the assassin would assist him. It was also hinted that he had contemplated ways to remove Tatsumi from Esdeath's side.

-During chapter 32, Hidou's monologue confirmed that the outbreak of Danger Beasts, done by as associate, was a plan to lure the Jaegers away from the Capital. Thus, it provided Night Raid the false sense of safety to resume their assassinations, as revealed in this chapter.

-Kudos to those who guessed that the Akame in chapter 32 deliberately left out a crossbow. She had hoped that would kill or injury Yukio in what would appear as an accident.

-Chapter 33 was when the doppelgänger acted, lighting up a signal for Hidou to begin the next phase of his plan. Mamoru and Hidou's associate were seen making their moves.

Until next time, everyone! Up next is Chapter 35 - Kill the Shingu User!