The full moon illuminated the darkest scene Akame could imagine. From her vantage point on a nearby hill, the Capitol that she left behind five years ago should have been was gone, replaced by Danger Beast infested ruins.

How could this have happened? Akame wondered, letting her senses stretch while the moonlight became dimmer. Looking up, she realized what was happening: a lunar eclipse. As she began to lose sight of the ruins, questions naturally surfaced within her.

Sensing motion behind her, Akame whirled to meet her expected opponent, the sword Teigu Masurame already in her hands. Searching the deepening shadows behind her for the cause, her eyes found a glowing face. The glow brightened, illuminating the area around a figure while dimming to allow her to study the new face. Alabaster white hair and eyes glowed from a relaxed expression that stared back at her, serene despite the hostility she radiated. The new figure stepped closer, letting its radiance banish some of the shadows surrounding it and allowing Akame to catch a glimpse of a tattered gray robe over a slim male body.

"So you've finally arrived, Akame of Night Raid." He spoke with unnatural tranquility given his circumstances. She pointed Murasame in his direction, expecting him to react only to feel some surprise when he neither flinched nor made a move of his own. Something about him prevented her normally stoic responses to strangers. Even if she didn't know why he seemed immune to the killing intent she radiated in hopes of scaring him off.

"Who are you?" Her voice inquired in lowered curiosity. It wasn't a friendly greeting, more of an intense questioning. It took a moment for the figure's confusion to become a mirror of her own curiosity.

He's younger than me, Akame thought to herself as he blinked in a slow, sad manner. "I don't have an actual name but you can call me Tsu. And to answer your unasked question about what happened to the Capitol? It is disappointingly simple; it was destroyed mid-conflict with the Empire's surviving loyalists. I hate to say this but all you've done is for nothing."

Akame couldn't control her arms as they dropped to her sides, the last sparks of hope crushed by the one calling himself Tsu. Everyone, I'm sorry. I've failed to protect the peace we fought for. Bulat, Sheele, Chelsea, Lubbock, Mien, Susanoo, Leone, Najenda….Tatsumi. I'm sorry.

"But that doesn't mean it can't be undone." Tsu's words raised her head, though Akame didn't remember letting it fall.

"How? How do I undo this?" She was desperate, her red eyes searching his face for anything that could help her. Anything that could make her actions worth something to someone.

"You really care about Tatsumi's dream, don't you?" Despite herself, Akame felt a blush warm her cheeks at the mention of the boy. She could practically see his green eyes and warm smile, hear his promise to her and his apologetic last words, and feel the pain in her heart again as he fell for a girl that wasn't her. "I have a simple question: what would you give up for that chance?"

"Everything." Her reply was automatic, out of her mouth before she could even give it a thought.

"Good. I'm going to collect on that later." Tsu answered, his voice suddenly as dark as the totally eclipsed moon overhead. Akame didn't have time to react before the glow around him became a flash, blinding her.

When the flash faded, a solitary figure stood on the hill, nothing more than a silhouette in the returning moonlight. "Glad to know I didn't waste any time." The figure said to itself before disappearing into the trees as Danger beasts began to howl. Tsu had a lot of things to do, after all.

Akame blinked at the spots in her eyes, willing them to dissipate. She found herself suspended over a familiar scene, one that filled her with nostalgia. It was the noble's house where they met Tatsumi in the midst of the mission. A quick glance at the flesh of her exposed arms showed no trace of the marks left over from using her trump card in the Capitol. She did her best to stifle the smile that wanted to take over her face now that she knew she was in the past.

She looked around her, her memory easily identifying the people around her.

Bulat stood proud in his Incursio armor; Leone looked eager to pounce in her Lionelle form; Sheele had her Ecstasy scissors already slightly open in preparation of her next foe; Mien was sighting the patrolling guards with Pumpkin; Lubbock was manipulating the wires that held them up.

When her eyes landed on another smaller form, she flinched despite herself. Kurome sat right next to her in her black sailor uniform, munching away on a small pack of cookies. The smaller girl looked over Akame, concern in her eyes.

"Onee-chan, is it time to go?" Kurome asked, putting her snacks away.

Akame's mind blanked out everything other than a single question: Is this really the past?

.

..

…

….

Akame kept waiting for the illusion in front of her to break, for something to start making sense.

"Onee-chan, we should go before the guards spot us. Lubbock is too busy trying to look cool to help us sneak in." Kurome shook Akame's arm while giving the green-themed assassin a hard look. He let loose a disappointed sigh before shooting the black-eyed girl a withering look of his own.

"Someone has to ensure we have an exit route prepared." Lubbock muttered, annoyed that Kurome was picking on him for being more of a support on team missions. Again.

Leone looked at Akame, and tried to read her thoughts. After accounting for Akame's usual social awkwardness and her slightly flushed appearance, Leone gave her guess. "Akame, you can get hot and bothered about that mystery guy from your childhood later. Like I might considering that cute little bumpkin I ran into earlier." Akame's mind snapped back from the spiral of questions it had been trapped in at the mention of the blonde's encounter with Tatsumi and her lewd suggestion. She shook her head, trying to keep the image of Leone pinning Tatsumi out of her mind.

"One of the guards is turning this way." Mien warned, the man's head in her crosshairs.

"Drop him then." Kurome replied, pulling Yatsufusa from its sheath.

"The moment I do that, the whole mansion knows we're here. I'm not doing it unless everyone's ready." Mien's eyes flicked over to Akame, who had yet to draw Murasame.

Realizing that she was holding everyone up, Akame felt her cheeks tinge pink while she pulled her sword free. She set her expression to neutral, knowing it was what they would be expecting her to do.

She cleared her mind, setting aside all her questions for the sake of the mission. Now ready to strike against the evils before her, Akame whispered her single word, "Eliminate."

Mien opened fire at Akame's order, dropping the first guard while everyone else dropped from the wires Lubbock was manipulating. As more guards circled to their position from the sound of the gunshot, Leone and Sheele broke into the mansion through a nearby window, focused on their targets: the two nobles who owned this mansion of lies.

No less than a dozen guards poured out of other doorways or from the sides of the mansion, desperate to protect the nobles and by extension themselves. Akame waited while everyone took positions around her, seeming to wait on her orders. Even Mien hadn't fired another shot from Pumpkin, raising more questions in Akame's mind before she squashed them.

"Kurome, Bulat." Akame felt them pick targets amongst the assembled guardsmen at the sound of their names. "Take them. Mien will kill any that try to flee. I'm going to circle around the mansion to ensure that the final target doesn't escape."

Her orders were met by Kurome's charge at the guards, followed closely by Bulat's spear. Smiling internally, Akame took off in the direction of the nearby storehouse, her path to it emblazoned in her memory while the sounds of slaughter chased her.

Akame moved towards the back the mansion, remembering how she had chased the daughter to the torture storehouse only to meet the unexpected guest that was Tatsumi.

Her new reality didn't fail her as she walked into the clearing around the storehouse, catching sight of three figures: Aria, the noble's daughter; the last surviving guard, soon to be slain by her; and Tatsumi, whose back was facing her. She paused, waiting for Tatsumi to turn and face her like he had the first time they had met.

Instead of seeing his eyes filling with righteous fury, Akame saw recognition and sadness dull the light in his eyes instead. "Akame?" Her name asked as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The change from her memories stunned Akame momentarily, her mind begging for clues as to what had changed.

"Akame?" Tatsumi questioned again, taking a hesitant step towards her while the guard and Aria edged closer to the storehouse's door. "It's me, Tatsumi. Please tell me you remember who I am. Please." Tatsumi's pleading strained his voice, as though he was fighting back tears. "If it's really you, just leave. Don't make me fight you." His hand was already wrapped around his sword's pommel, the threat of violence evident.

Akame knew she had to act, and her only choice was to make her way around Tatsumi and show him how wrong he was. Again. She couldn't stop a slight wince from the idea of crushing Tatsumi's world again when it crossed her face, but luckily Tatsumi seemed to take it as a sign of her confusion. He stepped forward again, relaxing his grip on his sword and extending his other hand in a gesture of friendship.

Akame used that motion to steel her resolve, dashing forward with sword drawn. She jumped in the moment that Tatsumi blinked, her feet finding traction against the back of his head before pushing off. She felt nothing for a moment, before an iron-clad grip closed around her foot, pulling her off her course and sending her back towards the ground with few options.

She rolled on her landing, raising her sword to meet the expected blow from Tatsumi. Her instincts didn't fail her as his shortsword bounced off her block, sending all of its force back into Tatsumi's arm. She rose to her feet, charging again at the guard and Aria.

"Dammit!" She heard Tatsumi curse behind her. Whether it was directed at her for blocking or himself for failing to realize the danger, she wasn't sure.

The guard shot at her, his machinegun spewing bullets at her at speeds too slow to have a hope of catching her. She didn't hesitate once she closed the gap, slicing through the man's torso with a single blow. She stepped towards Aria, making the girl back away in fear. She raised her sword to strike, acutely aware of the fact that Tatsumi would interrupt her attempted kill.

"Akame!" He shouted as her swing was countered by his own, even managing to slice the tip off of her tie with his blade's second edge. She slid away from Tatsumi, who now stood in a defensive position over the girl. She watched the piece of cloth flutter to the ground between them, something she hadn't been prepared for.

Was he this good the first time I met him? She questioned herself, uncertain of whether Tatsumi could actually be a threat to her.

"Tatsumi, you're not a target. If you step away, I won't have to kill you." She stated, her voice in business-monotone. She fought against her feelings, suppressing them with the fact that Tatsumi wasn't going to trust her blindly now that she had attacked him.

"Dammit Akame! I thought you were dead all these years and that's what you say to me?" Tatsumi's half-enraged, half-exasperated question threw Akame for a loop, but she recovered quickly when Tatsumi pointed his sword at her, before continuing, "But you're going to kill her no matter what, right?"

"Yep." She replied blankly, waiting to see Tatsumi's flustered response.

"Then I'm not going to let you do that." He resolutely replied, his determination-filled green eyes meeting her shocked red eyes. When did Tatsumi get so confidant? She felt a gentle warmth settle in her chest at the realization that Tatsumi was still the innocent hero of justice that he had been when they had first met.

"You wonderful, stupid idiot." Akame whispered to herself, before raising her voice so he could hear her, "Then you'll have to die too."

"Bring it." Was his reply, unafraid of facing her. Akame couldn't stop a shiver from passing through her. But she couldn't tell if it was from the excitement of the promised fight or something more base. She didn't let the thought slow her as she launched herself at Tatsumi, who eagerly met her with a charge of his own.

Kurome and Leone walked towards the storehouse, wondering what was slowing down their unstoppable leader Akame. When they reached the clearing, they caught sight of Akame's back to them facing Aria and a certain country boy that they were both familiar with.

"It's him." Kurome muttered in shock, then looked at Leone when she heard the sound of the blonde's paw meeting her head.

"That boy is the unluckiest person I've ever met." The transformed assassin proclaimed, waiting to see what was about to unfold. Though Kurome had her own thoughts on the matter.

Akame was pleasantly surprised as Tatsumi forced her back yet again, not giving her any ground to get closer to her target. She charged in again, her blade sweeping low in an attempt to make him jump back and away from Aria. Instead, he placed the flat of his blade against the side of his leg and kicked outward, knocking away Murasame's deadly edge and leaving her wide open to his counterattack. He threw a punch with his opposite hand, only for Akame to reach out and grab his forearm, pulling him across her body in a heavy takedown. Tatsumi landed flat on his back, the breath knocked out of his lungs audible in the silent night air.

"Sorry." She told him, bringing Murasame down in what would have been a fatal blow. Had she not aimed for the idol that she knew was inside his shirt. She felt the lack of direct flesh contact, heaving an internal sigh of relief that she hadn't just killed him for real before straightening up and fixing her gaze on Aria. She skirted Tatsumi's prone form while Aria whimpered, noticing how he slowly reclaimed his grip on his sword's handle.

She knew she needed to drag this out a little longer, praying that this reality's Leone would hurry up so she wouldn't actually have to risk killing him.

He rose to his feet quickly, forcing Akame to return her attention to him.

"Is that all you've got?" Tatsumi's annoyed tone told her he was still in this fight. "The monk hit me harder for disturbing his meditations!" He pulled the idol that had saved his life out of his shirt, holding it in his opposite hand. "And it looks like his lessons saved my life."

"If you had stayed on the ground, I wouldn't have to do this." Akame told him, closing the gap between them while swinging her sword at the side holding the idol. She knew that he wouldn't be able to block it in time, offering up a silent prayer that Leone would do her part.

Steel met steel and Teigu met Teigu as Kurome blocked Akame's attack, taking up a spot right in front of Tatsumi while Akame felt a large furry hand pull on her collar.

"What are you doing?!" The other two female assassins demanded of her, while Tatsumi couldn't stop the shock of their arrival from crossing his face.

"Kurome? Boob-lady who stole all my money?" Tatsumi dropped his sword and idol, grabbing the sides of his head to fend off a newfound migraine. "This can't actually be happening. I have to be dreaming if this is supposed to make sense."

Kurome turned to face Tatsumi, sheathing Yatsufusa and giving him a genuinely happy smile. "Don't worry Tatsu-nii. Onee-chan wasn't really going to kill you."

Leone looked from Akame to Kurome to Tatsumi then back to Kurome, confused as to how this guy seemed to know the youngest assassin present. "Can I get an explanation?"

"Remember the mystery boy that we always mention?" Kurome shot a glance over her shoulder to Leone, who nodded her understanding. It made sense to her when Leone had context.

"Just to be clear, I called dibs on him when I saw him yesterday." The blonde declared, letting go of Akame. Akame bit the inside of her cheek to stop the hot blush and equally fiery response she wanted to give the blonde for her insinuations.

Now it was Tatsumi's turn to look back and forth between the three assembled girls in front of him.

"What in the fucking hell is going on here?" He cursed loudly, massaging his temples as he tried to process everything he was seeing. He was too tired for all of these complex problems that were presenting themselves to him.

"You think that you're defending some innocent girl, right?" Leone inquired of him, to which he nodded. "Well take a look in that storehouse and tell me if that's what you think afterwards."

Tatsumi turned to the storehouse, catching sight of Aria who stood shivering and rooted to the same spot she had been since her guard had been killed mere minutes ago.

It took a single kick from Leone to break the doors open, letting noxious fumes assault Tatsumi's nose while his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the storehouse.

"Look upon their sins and tell me if they're innocent, Tatsumi." The blonde requested, her own night vision letting her know what he was about to see.

Corpses were strewn in dozens of torture devices and piles, each one horrifically twisted by the agonies of their deaths. Blank, dead eyes met Tatsumi's lively verdant greens, accusing him of protecting someone who deserved the hell they had been put through.

"They lure in people like you from the countryside, treating their lives like toys until they die." She explained, smelling the anxiety and rage on each of his gasped breaths. "That's what this family does."

"Sayo!" Tatsumi screamed out, his eyes on the body of girl his age hanging suspended from the rafters. "Sayo, I'm right here, so talk to me. Talk to me, please. Sayo, say something. Anything!"

"So you knew her?" Leone leaned against the doorframe, catching the halting steps taken by Aria out of the corner of her eye. But Akame and Kurome moved first, the assassin sisters cutting off any avenue of escape for her.

"Don't you think it's a little rude to try and leave when your guest is over there?" Kurome pointed in Tatsumi's direction with her sword, a saccharine sweet smile on her face. Aria looked at Akame, whose normally neutral expression now bore hate-filled eyes. The noble girl flinched backwards at the glare she was receiving, instinctively retreating back towards the storehouse and away from the two killers.

"You said that the family that lived here did this?" Tatsumi's voice was low, deadly with its accusations.

"Yep." Leone replied, a hand lazily motioning to Aria's back. "And the guards were just as guilty for not speaking out against it."

"She's right."

The confession turned everyone's heads to Aria, who had collapsed to her knees mere feet from the storehouse's open doors.

"But I couldn't stop it." She continued, "My parents had me monitored so I couldn't tell anyone. If I would have tried, they would have killed me. Believe me, please Tatsumi. I stopped them from poisoning your tea yesterday and today. I tried to save you."

"Tatsumi…" A weak male voice reached the five gathered at the entrance of the storehouse, making Tatsumi's head whip to the origin point of the familiar voice."Is that really you… Tatsumi? It's me." A withered and disease-covered hand reached out towards him from the corner cage, recognition dawning on Tatsumi's face.

"Ieyasu?" He questioned, barely able to match the worn and sickly person in front of him with the memory of his other traveling companion.

"She's the one who invited me and Sayo to stay with her. We ate and then passed out… and we woke up in this hellhole. That girl… she tortured Sayo to death!" Ieyasu's thin voice crescendoed with the revelation of what happened. Utterly broken, Ieyasu slid down the bars of his cage, sobs he'd held back for so long now shaking his entire body.

"W-w-w-what's so wrong with that?" Aria mumbled, rising to her feet robotically. "You're nothing but ignorant hicks from the country who don't know anything. You might as well be cattle for us to do what we please with." She pulled her face to her chest clenching and unclenching her muscles to fight her body's sudden spasms.

"Horrible sadists pretending to be Good Samaritans to lure in prey. Sorry for the wait," Leone apologized to the sisters who eagerly turned their swords towards Aria.

"Stop." Tatsumi's command was softly spoken, but weighed enough to make all three assassins pause and look at him.

"Are you really about to…" Leone started to question him, only to feel her words die on her tongue under the glare Tatsumi leveled at her. Akame and Kurome looked at him, amazed the level of killing intent they felt radiating off of him.

"No." He grabbed his sword from the ground, flicking it clean of any dust it had picked up. "She's my kill." He exclaimed, his sword tearing open her chest with ease. Aria's blood flew skyward, tracing Tatsumi's follow through and raining back down on the dead girl. Tatsumi didn't even realize that he was smiling, a dark promise of his affinity for violence.

"Without even hesitating." Kurome whispered, her words reaching Akame and Leone as they thought the same thing. Tatsumi gave his blade another flick, cleaning off the blood that coated it with a single fluid motion.

"Way to go Tatsumi! That felt great even from here." Ieyasu's voice reached them from the storehouse, reminding them that he was still alive. A wet and heavy cough forced Tatsumi to turn back in the direction of the storehouse, making him realize that he'd forgotten about Ieyasu's terrible state in his moment of bloodlust. He ripped the cage open like a man possessed, cradling his friend's unnaturally light body before stretching him out at the entrance to the storehouse.

"Stay with me Ieyasu! We've been through worse at home!" Tatsumi clasped his friend's hand, willing him to live on. Ieyasu's small coughs tinged his lips with blood, making Tatsumi fret even more.

"Rubola's final stage." Akame explained to Tatsumi, stepping into the storehouse to try ease his pain. "The mother loved to drug up her victims and write down their slow deaths. There's nothing that can save him."

"Tatsumi…" the name was barely audible, but they still reached their intended target.

"Ieyasu. You can't leave. Everyone I've ever cared for left me at some point, but I found you guys. I found them. Here, now. You can't leave again. You just can't." Tatsumi's eyes were closed, but failed to stop the stream of tears that ran down his face.

Akame could feel his heart breaking, and despite her normally strong composure, she could feel a tear threatening to slip from her eye. A quick glance at Kurome showed her that the younger girl wasn't able to watch Tatsumi's suffering either, her own eyes brimming with tears that marked the death of innocence. He helped his friend sit up slightly, easing his laboured breathing.

"Sayo never let that bitch win. She never gave in, Tastumi. She was cool to the very end." Ieyasu reached upwards, his eyes fixed on something only he could see. "So Master Ieyasu needs a cool end too. Don't let him go like we did." When Ieyasu's final words slipped by his lips, he gave a small shudder and went limp in Tatsumi's arms.

"He kept himself alive with will alone." Akame observed, saddened to see someone that could have been a true hero die such a wretched death. Tasumi wordlessly pulled his friend's body close, shoulders heaving under the force of his restrained sobs.

"Is this happening everywhere in the capital?" Tatsumi questioned, his tear-reddened eyes finding Akame and Kurome. "Is this what you're trying to stop?"

"We need to go." Akame pointed out while dodging the question, turning and starting to walk away so no one could see the tear that finally managed to escape.

"What about him?" Leone pointed to Tatsumi, who still sat on the floor of the storehouse cradling Ieyasu's body.

Akame paused, considering her next words before replying, "I said 'we' didn't I?" Kurome started after her sister, and Leone understood what the red-eyed girl meant. She grabbed Tatsumi's collar, dragging him after them. He took a moment to start a complaint before he got his feet under himself, and ducked out of his yellow sweater. Leone barely time to react as he pulled his sword out of the cloth now tangled in her hand. She turned back to face him, more than ready to hunt him down if he ran.

"I was going to ask to come along anyways." He declared, making Akame and Kurome stop and turn back to him. He fixed the sister's with a warm but determined look in his green eyes. "I made a promise that I wouldn't leave you two again if I ever found you."

Akame felt warmth bloom in her chest and even a little across her cheeks at his declaration. Kurome responded to it with a smile and an adorable head tilt, glad to have back another person she cared about.

Leone snorted at the mushy sentiment her three companions were expressing. "Save your sappy reunion for the secret base. And don't worry about your friends. I'll make sure we take them back and give 'em a decent burial too."

"We're already late as it is, let's not piss Mien off more than we need to." Akame reminded them, hurrying back to their planned meeting place.

The other three shared a quick look before sprinting after her, not wanting to be the last one there.

"You're late! What the hell took you so long? And who's that?" Mien pointed an accusatory finger at Tatsumi, who was trying to recover his breath next to Leone after arriving last at the top of the building that Night Raid was using to regroup.

"Akame's boyfriend." Leone shared with a grin, making Akame blush and look away from the blonde while Tatsumi straightened up so fast that they could nearly hear his spine snap into place.

"He's/ I'm not!" They denied, making everyone else sweatdrop in awkwardness at their synchronization.

"Then I'll take him!" Leone declared, grabbing Tatsumi and pulling his head into her chest to get a reaction out of the two of them.

Tatsumi flailed wildly, unsure of how to respond to this attack while Akame quickly chopped Leone on the top of her head. Hard. The blonde was knocked out by the unexpected blow, and fell on top of Tatsumi, pinning him underneath her with his face still trapped in her chest.

"Lucky bastard." Lubbock muttered as Akame kicked Leone to roll her off of Tatsumi. He ignored the harsh looks he received from Kurome and Mien for his comment. Tatsumi gasped for air while he sat up, mentally questioning his decision to follow them. He started to mutter curses on everyone and everything he could see and think of at the moment. Leone for stealing his money. Akame for knocking her out. Kurome for still wearing a sailor suit at her age instead of something less jailbaity. Himself for falling for Aria's plan. Leone for having such a large chest. Mien for having a washboard chest to match her childish stature.

"Bulat, please shut him up." Mien requested, a vein in her forehead pulsing at the insult she had just suffered.

"Gotcha." The armor-clad assassin stepped up, quickly knocking Tatsumi out and throwing him over one shoulder and Leone over the other. He didn't want to deal with Mien's foul mood, so he was just going to carry them back while keeping as low of a profile as he could, considering.

"You guys go ahead. Kurome and I gotta do our part now. We'll be there tomorrow morning." Lubbock told them, pointing to a ring of torches that were approaching the mansion.

"Understood." Akame answered, though she truly didn't. She looked at the two remaining conscious members of the group, who began to make their way back to base with a jump aided by Lubbock's threads.

What in the world has changed so much? Akame let herself ponder as her body automatically returned to base.

Back at the storehouse…

A cloaked figure entered the clearing, its face and body hidden under the red fabric. It walked quickly to the storehouse's broken front and the two bodies near it.

"Time waits for no man, supposedly." a male voice uttered from the shadows of the hood. "They sure are right about that."

"Imperial Police, who are you?" A gruff man in armour asked Kurome and Lubbock, holding his torch up to get a better look at them. Kurome and Lubbock exchanged a look at the stupidity of the question, but they had to keep their cover story going.

"You realize who she is, right?" Lubbock stepped into the torchlight, letting the guardsmen get a good look at him. Gone were his Cross Tail gloves and his green jacket. Instead, he wore a closed, gray greatcoat with a rifle slung over his back and his goggles over his eyes. "I mean, she is the one assigned to hunt down Night Raid."

Kurome stepped forward, giving the collected guards a smile that made their blood freeze in their veins when her teeth caught the torchlight. They flinched as she pulled out her snack bag and devoured a cookie in the time it took them to blink.

"So sorry to interrupt your investigation Lady Kurome!" The man bowed, and the other quickly followed suit. Kurome rolled her eyes at the pitiful sight of so many grown men groveling.

"Don't worry about it." She replied giving them a slightly more sincere smile, "if it hadn't been for your response, I wouldn't have actually picked up on their trail for at least three more hours."

"Thank you for your kindness!" The lead guard declared, returning to his at-attention position. "What would you like us to do for you?"

"Body count, Kill type, and a full sweep for any trace of them." Lubbock gave the order, but the men didn't hesitate to follow. The rumors about Kurome's partner and handler were nearly as terrifying as the one's about the only survivor of the Empire's Assassination program.

Once dispersed away from Lubbock and Kurome, the older assassin relaxed.

"It's so much easier to make a report when we can have the Empire do half the work for us."

"Still too busy trying to look cool to do real work?" She quipped right back through a mouthful of sweets.

"Tch." Every. Damn. Time. Every time he did anything, she teased and insulted him for it. Why am I her verbal punching bag?

"Sir, all the bodies have been counted and along with their cause of death." A guard reported to Lubbock, a grimace on his face. "Except for the daughter's."

Lubbock stared at the man from behind his goggles, letting the guard guess what questions he was about to ask.

"From what we can tell, something must have moved it, we have a large pool of blood and a slight trail that looks like an animal might have dragged it down. We're searching as fast as we can."

"Fine. Let me know the outcome." Lubbock replied, faking his best annoyed bureaucrat face. The guard scurried away, eager to leave the presence of him and his partner.

Alone again, Lubbock turned to Kurome, questions ready to fly.

"I thought you four killed her!"

"We did. I saw the kill with my own eyes." Kurome chewed a cookie thoughtfully before adding, "I'm certain she was dead."

"Then how do you explain the missing body? No scavengers could have found a body that quickly and dragged it that far away."

"Isn't having useless knowledge like that your job?"

Lubbock facepalmed, questioning why he put up with Kurome as his partner on assignments. She always made him feel like he was babysitting, on top of all the insults she gave him. At least it isn't Leone, he thought to himself knowing how much of a distraction the blonde and her.. giant…. boobs... would be he could never get anything done that wasn't staring at them. Damnit, now I can't stop thinking about them.

"Pervert."

When the fuck did she develop telepathy?

Hey everyone, let's establish a few things: This is Time Travel AU centered on Akame. Akame has no knowledge of the new timeline. Tatsumi isn't some lucky idiot they met. And Kurome is actually on Night Raid's side? Boy this timeline is strange. There is an OC and he will be playing a big part in this story as it crashes and burns the canon storyline. Sorry to anyone who was expecting something else.

Also, a shout-out to my beta reader Iamyandere4ever for the help.

Anyways, please review and follow so you know that I know you actually read this.