Chapter 03

Cursed Kingdom!

Deception & Redemption!

Shirō flipped his body over the outstretched appendage, and used his momentum to rebound with a roundhouse kick that sailed over Bulat, who narrowly ducked beneath it. Bulat reached out his upper limbs to intercept the abrupt midair descending dive. The impact was aggressive enough to make him feel as if his legs would buckle any second, but he endured it and stood his ground, cracking the floor and forming sharp crevices underneath him.

With a livid grunt, Bulat thrust the other combatant backward, before lashing out with another punch. The snow-haired man diverted the arm to the left, and, while using it for support, he swiveled his entire body around and whipped out with a gyrating punt, only for it to be caught midair by Bulat. Grinning, Bulat spun around and prepared to chuck Shirō into the far wall. However, the man didn't struggle, and he instead maneuvered himself to perform a cartwheel drop that forced the raven-haired man backward. Shirō somersaulted back to land swiftly on his feet.

A turbulent gust was set off in the aftermath, whilst the combatants peered at each other.

"It doesn't seem like we will have a winner anytime soon." Leone yawned lackadaisically. "They have been at it for over an hour now already. Aren't they bored yet? I know I am." She grumbled resignedly. "So much for thinking that they would put on a good show."

Najenda inhaled deeply from the cigar in her mouth, acutely scrutinizing the dexterity and adroitness of the sallow-haired man. "Technically, he is skilled enough to be classified as an elite." Sighing, she turned around and sauntered back inside the hideout with Leone tagging along morosely. "To think I found him in that condition there."

Meanwhile, Bulat sighed at the unprecedented agility of the other fighter. "You are good." He complimented earnestly. Both were panting and sweating profusely from their arduous training session. "Those were some polished moves. Mind if I ask where ya learned to fight like that?"

Shirō brushed the dirt off his shroud, and stretched his muscles and joints. "Time is a good teacher, and I have had a lot of it."

"Ha, beats me." Bulat muttered, collapsing down on his knees from fatigue and soreness. "And, ya got some stamina too. You were on a roll."

"I suppose we are done then." Shirō muttered absentmindedly.

"Yeah, you win." Bulat conceded. "It's nice to have a capable sparring partner here. It sucks that others couldn't be much help."

"You are a formidable adversary yourself." Shirō nodded in acknowledgement and ambled off toward the hideout. He happened to come to one conclusion: Teigu holders were strong. However, they wouldn't be sufficient in outclassing any servant unless they were exceptionally experienced, like Esdeath and perhaps Susanoo.

"Oi, Shirō!"

The Archer snapped out of his reverie when he noticed Lubbock's approach. Arching an inquisitive eyebrow, he peered at the green-haired man. "Do you want something, Lubbock, was it?"

"Nah, it's just that Najenda called for a meeting, something about a new assignment or whatever." Lubbock shrugged nonchalantly and entwined his arms over his head as he sauntered ahead. "Just letting ya know if you weren't informed yet. Maybe she wanted to test ya through this one."

"I was informed." Shirō asserted calmly. "The assignment is most likely to assassinate an entire family in the Capital. The reason though is still unknown to me. Honestly, I didn't inquire about that."

Lubbock looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. "Huh? You already knew it then? That is so not fair."

Shirō overlooked Lubbock's comment and continued forward. He knew that to accomplish this mission, they must sneak inside the Empire. But what concerned him most is what was waiting on the other side.

Soon enough, the assassins found themselves in the meeting hall awaiting Najenda's instruction. Shirō entered, followed closely by Lubbock. Shortly after, Bulat also joined them in the hall. Najenda noted everyone was present for the briefing, and she began with a nod. "We have received a new contract. The source is reliable." She paused. "We are infiltrating the Imperial Capital tonight."

"All of us?"

Najenda looked at Mine, shaking her head as she did so. "I am assigning all of you to this contract." She said before repositioning her scrutinizing gaze on Shirō. "But, you will come with me. I have something to take care of."

The Archer bobbed his head once. No questions needed.

"Wait! What the hell are you up to this time?" Lubbock interrupted, slamming his palms on the table and leaning forward. "Remember last time? You barely made it out alive!"

Najenda narrowed her eyes, blowing a wispy billow of smoke. "Several of our scouts went inoperative in the last week. It is my job as the head of Night Raid to investigate the cause and report to the revolutionaries. As for the dangers," She peered at the snow-haired man again. "…that is where you come in. If things go haywire, I could use someone of your expertise. Personally, I also want to assess your use."

The Archer nodded again.

Bulat folded his arms over his chest, whistling in amusement. "I will admit that Shirō is extremely skilled. He is a good choice, especially if you fall into a pinch."

Leone raised her hand, grinning animatedly. "I also vouch for Shirō."

"Tsk." Mine scoffed derisively. "I don't really care. Do what you want."

"I suppose that settles it." Sheele stated matter-of-factly. "We have no objections."

Najenda bobbed her head affirmatively, looking at everyone again. "As for your contract, there are three primary targets, including the guards stationed. The rest of the details are inside." She informed, pushing an envelope forward. "Don't let any one of them escape. Each of them is disposable." She glanced at Akame particularly. "Eliminate everyone."

Akame nodded in acknowledgment.

"That will be all. Prepare to mobilize in an hour."

Two hooded figures crept toward a narrow alley, vigilant of their surroundings as they navigated their way through the mob gathering outside the abbey. The corpse of a vicar would do that much. It was a miracle that the crowd hadn't gone rampant, and the military had acted so swiftly in shutting down the convent along with the immediate area. Quickly absconding toward the backstreet, the pair quickened their pace. Lingering there would inevitably draw unwanted attention.

"Where next?"

Najenda looked at Shirō, sighing loudly. "I don't know this Capital. Something has changed tremendously in the last couple of weeks. I cannot put my finger on what it is, but this Empire has become dangerous as of late." She then shook her head and lit a cigar. "But why would you kill him? We could have forced some information out of him. It is hard to come across pawns with influence in the Empire. He could have held some invaluable clues 'bout the irregularities."

"He was rather complacent beneath that intimidated façade, as if he was buying time. We should leave this area at the earliest."

"I wouldn't disagree there. People like him always have someone watching them. But that is why I chose to come here today, when Akame and the others would attract the most attention to give us a slip."

"It is not the military that concerns me."

"You know what is going on in the Empire." That wasn't a question as much as a statement. "At least, you must have some idea."

"I do."

Najenda narrowed her eyes in deliberation. He had not hesitated in his reply, yet, he wouldn't tell her everything. "Who else do you think would come after us here? All the generals and capable military units are still away. The Empire is most vulnerable at the moment. They will not make the mistake of dispatching the rest of their units and jeopardize themselves."

Shirō clenched his teeth. "I told you, it is not the military that concerns me. You will learn eventually about how much the Empire has transformed lately." Suddenly, he stopped and raised his right hand to gesture at his companion, signaling an immediate threat.

"What happened?"

Shirō stiffened. "We are being followed." His eyes promptly focused onto the roof of the adjacent building, where he could swear a silhouette was a moment before.

Najenda arched an eyebrow.

"I will meet you ahead."

Najenda opened her mouth to object, but Shirō was long gone. She watched where Shirō had disappeared over the building, his leap powerful enough to reach that height effortlessly. Clenching her palms into fists and shaking her head, Najenda reluctantly found herself escaping alone.

Shirō pursued a shadow that had been stalking him earlier. His body was hunched forward, and his hands behind him as he ran across the rooftop. He dropped into the small alleyway and quickly scanned the dark vicinity for movement, but found none. Bakuya and Kanshou materializing into Shirō's palms, primed for whatever was to come.

Shirō instinctively tilted his head to the side, a gust of freezing air cutting into his face, but he ignored that and focused on the immediate peril. His eyes were drawn toward the silhouette blocking the exit.

"You sure you want to waste your time here with me? I would rather avoid this, since I have not been ordered to kill you." A minute pause followed. "Say, why don't we look the other way this time? You finished your mission, and I finished mine. Let's call it off for today."

Shirō narrowed his eyes, and steadied his arms as he prepared himself. At least, he could narrow down the gender of this servant from that conceited, masculine belittling. "I didn't get that feeling when you almost beheaded me."

"That was your mistake. You shouldn't have pursued me. Not when you have bigger things to worry about. I was only asked to keep watch for anything unusual. All that is left is to report back. But if we have to fight here, I don't think we could finish this before we are inevitably interrupted."

"What do you mean-" Shirō paused abruptly, and his head inclined to the side as another squall slapped his face. By the time, he returned his attention to the front, his adversary was gone. Clicking his tongue, he sighed loudly as the twin falchions dematerialized into thin motes of light. "Bigger things to worry, huh? I better find Najenda then."

Akame burrowed her heel into the ground and skidded to a halt. Murasame - a katana - was brandished in front of her face. Spinning around, followed by a startling twist of her body, she propelled herself forward, which packed a great deal of force in her swing. Murasame vertically slashed down at the young ivory-haired girl, who was wielding a pair of butcher knives. The cacophony of metal hitting metal barely fazed them, though Akame was quickly overpowered as her body was shoved back.

Leone was right behind her; she switched with the raven-haired assassin, and threw a punch toward the cloaked girl, but the attack was blocked by the flat surface of a knife. "I am not done with you yet, you little runt!" Another punch struck the blade, and the younger girl was pressed back. However, the little girl effortlessly broke through Leone's defense, and rammed her knee into the assassin's diaphragm. Luckily, Leone was quick to react and shirked back, as another knife sailed past in a wide arc, missing her throat by mere inches. A bead of sweat slowly rolled down her face. This had to be some kind of sick joke. Who the hell was this bitch?

The younger girl refused to pass over her momentary advantage. Seizing the opportunity, she was about to charge at the distressed Leone, but instead, she hastily withdrew back, her eyes focusing on a thin wire stretched in front of her. 'When did he?' She could have sworn that it wasn't there a moment ago.

"Missed, eh?" Lubbock grinned, retracting his wires just as Akame burst toward the girl.

The younger girl went for a feint thrust. However, Akame was not deceived. Instead, a mighty vertical swing of Murasame forced the other girl onto her back foot. Both of them stared into the other's indifferent eyes. In a flicker of sparks, Murasame was knocked aside, just as the other knife sailed toward Akame. But Akame parried the effort with the hilt of her katana and overpowered the pair of small knives with a diagonal slash that met thin air.

The younger girl gritted her teeth at the raven-haired girl's almost implausible swordsmanship. Grimacing at the wind which battered her face, the younger girl gripped her knives in reverse, preparing to rip apart her adversary. Before she could take action, a dark shadow manifested from behind and distracted her. Barely turning her body around to block the punch from Leone, the younger girl suddenly found her right arm go limp, as an arrow tore through her shoulder's ligament. The next moment, a punch was buried into her face, and she was ricocheted back through a deep gust of wind.

Brushing her palm on the ground to stop her erratically tumbling body, the younger girl barely managed to regain her footing. More blood continued to spill from her shoulder; her teeth clenched and her eyes burned with untamed fury. For a moment, she seemed conflicted on whether to resume her fight or withdraw, until she suddenly disappeared, her presence along with the copious bloodlust vanishing into thin air.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU BITCH! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Calm down, Leone." Lubbock chuckled, clenching and unclenching his fingers, a glove-like Teigu stuck on his right hand. "She barely got you the third time. It's not like there is any lasting damage."

"What did you say?!" Leone glowered infuriatingly, her right eye twitching as she was prepared to pounce at the man. "I won't rest until I have punched her in the face."

Akame acknowledged Leone with an impassive nod while putting Murasame back into its sheath.

"You did punch her in face," Sheele pointed out, holding onto a giant pair of scissors on her back. "…without using your Teigu."

"Unlike you, she is probably gonna walk around with a broken nose for a while." Mine snickered in amusement at the thought, posing with her Pumpkin on her shoulder. "I wish I could see that."

"That was because of Shirō!" Leone barked, stomping toward where an arrow had punctured a nearby tree. "I kind of sensed him earlier. It was fleeting, but it must have been him."

"So, that stuck-up jerk is here too?" Mine scoffed derisively, almost pouting as she did so. "Didn't he go out with Najenda?"

"Go out?!" Lubbock shouted animatedly. "Don't go misinterpreting everything. People will get the wrong idea."

"Well, it's not like he is here." Leone corrected.

"We will worry about the small talk later." Bulat, donning full body armor, approached the gathered group. "For now, let's leave before the reinforcements arrive." He then pointed toward the brown-haired boy hung over his shoulder, unconscious and stained in his own blood. "Speaking of which, what 'bout him?"

"Told you, we are bringing him with us." Leone stated matter-of-factly. "He has got courage, skill, and above all, luck." She then looked toward Sheele. "Oh, Akame, mind lending me a hand? I have to bring his friends too."

"Okay."

"Did you take her down?"

Shirō shook his head resignedly. "She escaped." Atop one of the tallest building in the vicinity, he scanned the expanse of the Empire. The bow dissolved into thin light, as he glanced at Najenda. "I think it is time I tell you 'bout the new occurrence in the Empire. Let's go to the Revolutionary Army's headquarters."

"You better have a damn good explanation for demanding this." Najenda frowned.

Yo, long time, no chapter. Sorry about that. I kind of went offline for last six months. Been a terrible time for me. But, I am back, sort of. Not sure when I shall lose my motivation and go offline again. Anyway, this chapter isn't very long. But, I have a damn good explanation here. I had written about Tatsumi. But I had a late recognition that this story is about Shirō, and I should explain the occurrence through Shirō's perspective. So, I scratched that scene later.

Still, a chapter is a chapter. Hope, you liked it.

Big thanks to "StinghyNachos" for beta-reading the chapter. Also, bigger cheers to everyone who recommended tons of Servants. That wrapped the evil ones. Do me another favor, and let me know some more names whom you would want to see on the good side.

Until next time, read & review lot.