For one second, it was dark.

And in the next, she was awake.

Her eyes were greeted by a warm ray of sunlight. Her face was pale, sweat formed across her forehead. Her breaths ragged and uneven.

Another nightmare, it seemed. She grasped her face, sorrow in her mind.

It was so vivid. Her parents' faces, pale as a blue moon, devoid of emotion, their lifeless eyes merely staring towards her. Burrowing deep into her fragile soul. Until it shattered, like glass.

It might've been just a dream, but the pain couldn't have been more real. Yet, she stopped the tears from leaking, wiping away her eyes in a hurry. Crying wouldn't change anything.

Naoki stared at her hands. Hands that had been stained in blood.

She was a fugitive now. An enemy of the Empire. Her name was simply another list on their bounty. Her life, now marked for death.

And she didn't care. Not anymore.

Taking a look at the surroundings, she felt relief for the first time since what felt like forever. The room wasn't big, nor was it a beauty to look at, but at least it was better than spending another night in the forest.

Walking out of the comfort of the bed, while only in her grey blouse and blue shorts, she looked into a nearby mirror. Looking into her reflection, she noted her unkempt hair, her baggy eyes, and her overall disheveled appearance.

She failed to see the girl that used to be herself. Not like it mattered anymore, anyway.

She began caressing her shoulder-length hair, which now resembled a thumbleweed more than anything. Perhaps something could be done about it.

A gust of wind followed, and her thoughts were broken.

Turning towards the open window behind her, she saw a familiar face, with striking yellow eyes.

Kai sat still, his expression remained as stoic as always, but she was already used to it. Despite so, she could feel his concern. And she greeted him with a smile.

"I'm fine. Just give me a minute."

A vague answer, but for the swordsman, it was enough. He leapt away from the window, leaving Naoki to herself.

As the sun slowly rose from the horizon, she realized it was time for training. There was no helping it, she was a part of them now.

Two nights ago. That's when it began. When she finally became an assassin.

Shining under the dim light of dawn, hidden in the vast expanse of lush greens, built under a the side of a mountain, lay the stone fortress belonging to the most wanted group of criminals in the entire Empire.

Night Raid.

Atop the steep mountain, a young blonde woman stood, her gaze hardening towards the seemingly endless forest down below. Her only company being the calm night breeze.

Leone, one of the more aggressive members of Night Raid, well known for her inhuman strength and brutal ferocity, held a look of concern directed towards the horizon. She reminisced the events of the last few hours that led her this way.

After finding the corpse of Zank the Executioner, everyone was sure that Akame or Tatsumi were the ones who finished the job, since they were separated earlier. Although that begs the question, where did they go afterwards?

So they gathered at the spot they agreed to rendevzous at, and waited for the duo's arrival.

And waited.

And waited.

But they never came.

Tensions began rising among them, as Mine suspected they may have gotten captured by the Empire, despite how unlikely such a circumstance would sound like, since Akame's skills were nothing to be scoffed at. Bulat however, surmised that Tatsumi might've been the one in danger, and Akame was forced to go after him by herself.

But even that explanation wouldn't do Akame justice. Everyone knew her as one who would prioritize the mission first and foremost, and rarely would she ever act recklessly even during emergencies. She would've returned to inform the rest of the team beforehand if Tatsumi indeed were captured, but she wasn't the type to run off and risk everything by herself.

Eventually the blackness of the sky began to light up in a brighter shade of blue, indicating that night had come to an end. The members of Night Raid had no choice but to return to their base, with or without their two missing members, lest they attract more unwanted attention from the Imperial Police.

As the light of dawn bathes the landscape, everyone was filled with unease, unsure of the fate of their two precious members. Najenda, the leader of Night Raid, had begun planning a reconnaissance mission on the Capital which would involve all members, in an effort to unravel the truth behind both Akame and Tatsumi's disappearance.

It may sound like a hasty decision, but desperate times call for very desperate measures. They couldn't afford to lose two valuable members so early in this war, not when victory was still far from their reach.

So distraught were they in their predicament, that the rest of Night Raid failed to notice the shocked expression on Lubbock's face, for a distinct reason.

"Guys! I felt something outside hitting my wires!"

"Huh!?"

Their ongoing dilemma was cut to a halt. Lubbock's wires detecting movement outside their base could usually only mean one of two things.

Either it was a stray animal which just happened to stumble upon one of the wires, or their missing members may have signaled their return, as unlikely as both possibilities sounded. Or worse.

Someone had found their secret hideout, someone they may not be too fond of. Imperial scouts, bandits or others alike.

The chances were highly improbable, but not impossible. And they couldn't dismiss those odds.

"Everyone, you know what to do."

Najenda made her call. And in her mind, it was the right one. Everyone immediately grabbed their Teigus and headed outside. They could be in for one heck of a fight.

-

"A..Akame?"

Rare it was, to hear the blonde fighter thoroughly stunned by anything, a notion shared by the rest of Night Raid.

They expected a fight. However, their supposed unwelcomed guests were far more bizzare.

But for all the wrong reasons.

Leone stood slightly agape, obviously puzzled, not only because her missing teammates had returned after a long night of absence, one covered in bandages and looking pale, and the other slightly wounded, already raising some warning flags. Rather, her attention quickly fell onto the two silhouettes behind them.

One of which bore a familiar looking emotionless face, one she never expected to see again. And bright yellow eyes.

In the midst of the sea of silence, Mine decided to break the tension.

"Akame!! Tatsumi!! Where in the world have you two been!? And...who the hell are those two!?"

Being essentially half human, half animal, Leone's senses were far more sensitive than normal humans. As such, it wasn't peculiar for her to notice a tone of slight fear in Mine's voice, along with her fingers slightly twitching, as if aching to pull out her Teigu, Pumpkin.

The same could be said for other Night Raid members. Bulat, fully clad in his armor Incursio, seemed quite adamant to put his Neuntote to good use. Lubbock did not have his usual carefree expression, instead looking downright anxious with sweat forming on his forehead. Sheele, with her Extase unsheathed, simply held a passive look, yet her stance implied caution.

It was rare to see Night Raid so agitated towards an anomaly, and Leone could understand why.

The two strangers, one a young man and the other a girl, had weapons sheathed on them. The fact that Akame and especially Tatsumi seemed badly wounded, somehow implied that they got into serious trouble last night, either during their fight against Zank, or more worryingly, because of the former two.

The young raven haired girl with a dark red hooded cloak held a hostile look in her eyes, which never meant any good. The swordsman beside her, however, kept a calm expression, seemingly unperturbed by the situation.

And yet, it was the latter that presented the bigger threat. Perhaps it was those striking eyes of his.

The eyes of an experienced killer. One that could tell many stories, none of which would be pleasant to hear.

"Wait!!"

Tatsumi spoke out. He saw Night Raid's unfriendly expressions, and knew it was a bad sign. He needed to defuse the tension. His team needed an explanation, and a good one at that.

"I can explain...we had some trouble with Zank the Executioner earlier. But the mission's accomplished."

"That's not what we're worried about."

Bulat's correction was on spot. It wasn't strange to suffer injuries during missions. What was strange, was the sight of two unknowns, both armed, who managed to somehow find their way into a hidden base within the mountains, that no one outside Night Raid should know of.

Tatsumi knew what Bulat meant, and he wasn't slow to answer.

"Don't worry, these two are friends. They helped us treat our wounds. They wanted to help our cause and join our team. Please accept them. They mean no harm, really." Tatsumi's plea was something none of Night Raid expected to hear.

Having two additional members would be beneficial to their cause, that's for sure. Then again, the threat of them possibly being Imperial spies didn't bode very well amongst most of the team.

The only person, who didn't share the same thought, was Leone.

"Alright!!! Welcome to the team!"

The others, especially Mine, were not amused.

"Wha-Wait!! Leone, Why should we accept those strangers? we know nothing about them!" Mine exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Mine. I know that guy."

"Eh?"

Now that got quite a reaction from the rest.

"Yeah! He's the one I told you guys about before! You know, the one who fought Akame and ran?"

"That guy!?" Lubbock shouted out of sheer disbelief, eyeing the swordsman head to toe. The man who managed to get on equal grounds with Akame, the deadliest assassin in the Revolutionary Army, was someone who looked like a homeless beggar?

Granted, there was that weird-looking sword he had on his side, but still...

"Yeah! He's a nice guy, I think. Not much of a talker too. Well, I've never seen the girl beside him though...maybe it's his girlfriend, or-"

"Wait, Leone. If what you said was true, then shouldn't we be even more cautious of this man? Especially considering we know how skilled he is." Bulat stepped in.

"Yeah, not to mention...that girl beside him..she seemed quite eager to show off her daggers, don't you think?" Lubbock chimed in, noting the red hooded girl beside the swordsman, whose sharp eyes and defensive stance..seemed to indicate unhealthy intentions.

"Maybe she's just..scared of us? We're all a bunch of armed assassins though, the most wanted in the entire Empire. Maybe it would help if we...cozy up to them a bit?" Sheele timidly responded.

"So, what do we do?" Lubbock asked. The team had a moment of silence.

"Wait!! Don't tell me we're actually considering this!?" Once again, broken by Mine.

"To be frank, Mine, we could always use more manpower for our cause. Having two additions to our team could be a huge advantage on our side, assuming they're trustworthy, of course." Bulat remarked. Afterwards, he strolled forward, towards Akame and Tatsumi, who had been silent the whole time.

"Akame, Tatsumi, are you sure we can trust these two? You know what's at stake, right?"

Both answered without hesitation.

"Yes." "With my life."

Bulat narrowed his eyes. That was quite a bold statement from Tatsumi, but the boy had always been honest and daring, if a bit stubborn. That's why he was different from so many others.

He turned towards the swordsman and his student. In a flash, his armor disappeared, leaving behind a tall well-built man with a quite extravagant hairstyle, and a smile on his face.

"In that case, welcome to Night Raid." He calmly stated, extending forward a hand towards the two strangers, a sign of trust.

Surprisingly, the swordsman responded in kind, with his own.

CLASH

Metals struck one another, the sounds of their clashing echoing across the open field. With each clash, another second of pause arrived.

Hard gasps could be heard, coming from the raven haired girl, armed with daggers. Her opponent? The emotionless swordsman, who seemed rather unfazed by her attacks.

Beside the two, there were a few spectators. Lubbock, along with Sheele, Bulat and Mine, silently watched as Naoki desperately tried to land even a single scratch on her mentor, Kai.

The result thus far, had not been satisfactory, to say the least.

It was almost like watching an ant trying to win a fight against a lion, a ridiculously unfair fight, and a hopeless struggle to see the ant managing to hurt the lion in any way without being trampled.

"Guys...how long has it been?" Bulat asked.

Mine was quick to answer. "I think it's been..2 hours, tops."

"This is kinda depressing to watch." Lubbock mused.

"Like you could do any better." Mine's venomous words struck deep into Lubbock's heart. That wasn't a fair comparison after all given his skills and his Teigu.

Sheele, however, kept stoic. Her eyes were more focused on the swordsman. His demeanor. His eyes. His movements. Everything he did, felt natural for him.

For the swordsman, drawing a sword and taking a life, is almost the same as merely breathing.

As he deflected a flying dagger towards his face, courtesy of Naoki, Kai impassively diverted his stare towards his side. For a brief moment, his eyes locked on to Sheele's.

And for a brief moment, she could see herself within the reflection of his irises. With the same cold, impassive stare.

"Aaaahhh!!!" CLANG

The crimson blade shone brightly under the sunlight, locked in place by Naoki's dagger. Kai eyed his companion, noting her increasing recklessness.

She was breathing heavily, her hands were shaking from pain, and her skin covered in sweat. She seemed ready to faint, yet her spirit refused to back down. Determination is a powerful drive, but too much of it can prove fatal.

Kai applied more pressure, forcing Naoki to be pushed backwards. In a split second, she twisted around and rolled to the side, mildly surprising the former. He assumed she was trying to flank him from a different angle.

Unknown to himself, she had a different reason to do so.

Her left hand still held on to her dagger, but her right was filled with a handful of soil from the ground. Swiping forward, she threw the soil to the air.

For a fraction of a second, Kai was caught unprepared. He wasn't expecting a fistful of earth to be thrown to his face. But he retaliated by slashing the dust cloud in half, the sheer force of his blade pushing the surrounding dust away, restoring his limited vision.

By the time he was done however, she was no longer where she was supposed to be. Unfortunately for the latter, he knew what was coming next.

Kai immediately lowered his body, extending his foot and knocking Naoki's own, tackling her to the ground. What followed was a painfully resounding thud.

"Aachk!!" Desperately, she tried to gather her senses and rolled to the side, but a sharp feeling directed to her neck caused her thoughts to cease.

She looked upwards, and there he stood. His eyes as sharp as ever, and his sword just barely touching her skin. She was irritated. Her strategy didn't work as well as she thought.

What was she thinking? Of course it wouldn't have worked. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. She was still leagues below him. She should've seen it coming from a mile away. Perhaps she just wasn't cut out to be a fighter?

Kai took a moment to process Naoki's actions. Even though she still lacked in experience when it comes to direct combat, she knew how to use seemingly underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. There's nothing wrong with that. There are no rules in a fight to the death.

She threw her dagger towards him when he wasn't looking, with near perfect accuracy. It could've killed him, or at least wounded him, but she knew he could've blocked it. Then she tried to incapacitate his sight with a handful of soil and from behind. Again, a clever move, which might've worked on lesser opponents.

'She is learning faster than I expected.'

Naoki released a heavy sigh. She was dreadfully tired. Standing up, she released her dagger, and calmly walked away. Or she would've, if it weren't for a hand stopping her.

She could feel his hand on her shoulder. Did she do something wrong? Did she forget something?

"New hairstyle?"

Oh. So he noticed. She had tied her hair like a braided bun and finished it with a little red ribbon. Just like how her mother used to tie it for her, when she was younger and couldn't do it herself.

She quickly dismissed those memories as fast as she could.

"Yeah."

"It's nice."

She was surprised by his answer, but was grateful for it. She mustered up a weak response.

"Thanks."

And walked back inside. She could use some rest, maybe a cup of coffee as well.

Kai stared at her back for much longer than he thought. He could tell she was mad, but at who? Maybe he was too harsh? He was sure he went soft enough. Otherwise her training wouldn't have been very effective. Then again, it could've been something else.

He wasn't really sure. Observing people's emotions had never been his strong suit.

He felt something else tugging at him. Like the sharp feeling of being watched by a hundred eyes. He then remembered their fight had an audience.

He twisted his head towards the eyeing crowd, surprising the latter. They had a look of tension on their faces, before suddenly turning away from him, breaking their eye contact.

Strange. Was it something on his face? Then why aren't they saying anything?

"Psst, guys, he's looking at us. What do we do?" Lubbock silently whispered.

"Shut up and just act stupid." Mine responded.

"...wait, why are we even looking away? I thought he's a part of us now?" Sheele curiously pointed out. And she immediately got 'shushed' by the others.

"...you know, Sheele's got a point. Why are we even still standing here anyway?" Bulat pointed out, much to the others' dismay.

-

As Naoki walked back to the Night Raid's base, she noted another presence coming in the opposite direction of her.

She had seen her face before. Akame, one of the deadliest members of Night Raid. And among the most wanted in the Empire. The price on her head was staggering.

She also noted the assassin's weapon. A curved, single edged sword, with a red hilt. Is that one of the so-called legendary weapons that once belonged to the Empire's greatest warriors? How could it have fallen to the hands of their enemy?

The deadly swordsman continued walking, ignoring Naoki. She seemed cold, emotionless, her red eyes almost piercing through everything it sees. Almost reminding her of a certain someone.

"Are you alright?"

Another female's voice surprised her, as she was lost in thought. Naoki turned to see the head of Night Raid, Najenda. Her white hair, prosthetic arm, and imposing aura somehow made her even more intimidating than she already was.

"Ah, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

"Curious about Akame?" Najenda's question was shocking, as if the Night Raid leader knew exactly what she was thinking before.

"She doesn't talk alot, and sometimes you rarely even see her react towards anything. We're all used to it by now, but since you're a new member, I'm just reminding you, don't be afraid of her. She would never hurt one of her own. And you're apart of us now, remember?"

Najenda frankly seemed like a really nice person, which was not something Naoki expected from a leader of the most wanted assassination group in the entire Empire. Nevertheless, she decided to respond the same way.

"I remember. Thank you again, for accepting me."

"Say...I am slightly curious about your friend. Kai was his name, wasn't it? What can you tell me about him?"

Najenda's question, unsurprisingly, was one that Naoki found herself struggling to answer. Mostly because, she herself didn't really know the true answer to that.

"Well..what can I say, he's...man of few words as well."

"Hmm...so I noticed."

Najenda narrowed her eyes. Naoki seemed trustworthy enough. Just another poor victim of the Empire's inhuman mistreatment of its own people. But Kai...he was truly an enigma. Didn't seem like someone from the Empire, which would mean he was a foreigner. But from where?

And if he really was, why is he here, of all places?

--

"I want a rematch."

Akame voiced out, loud enough for everyone in the base to hear.

"Eh? / What? / Akame, seriously? / Oh, this should be fun." The members of Night Raid said respectively.

It wasn't normal to see the Demon Sword swordsman challenging someone else, especially one of their own. But perhaps the most interesting thing, is who she was challenging.

Kai simply stood in silence, his expression as blank as ever. For some reason, seeing his face remaining unchanged, as if he didn't hear what she just said, slightly irritated her. Was that how she often look like when she engages a mission? Was this how her other teammates sometimes feel?

"Did you hear me? I said I want a rematch!"

Kai began raising an eyebrow. Rematch? What rematch?

Oh, right. They fought before. He just forgot about it. Why would she want a rematch? From what he's observed, Akame is one of, if not the most skilled assassin Night Raid has, and their greatest trump card. What else did she have to do to prove her own strength?

Oh well, he assumed he could still go on for one more sparring session. But he needed to go hunt something soon. Shinku is getting thirsty again.

Kai simply nodded.

Now it was Akame's turn to raise an eyebrow. Was that a sign that he accepted her challenge? But why not just say yes? Was he really that afraid to speak?

Perhaps those questions could be answered later. But now, it was time for a spar.

"The first one who can get the other to surrender, is the winner. Do not hold back." She said the last sentence as clear as she could. This may not be a truly serious fight to the death, but she decided not to go easy, and neither should the other swordsman.

Ever since that fated encounter that night, she was disturbed deeply. The silent swordsman, and his crimson bladed sword. What was up with that? Did he paint the blade red on purpose? Or was there a more sinister reason?

He did not appear like a true fighter, yet his skills said otherwise. She had never seen such quick reflexes by anyone else, aside from a certain blue-haired sadistic monster. He had the look of a foreigner, and he probably is.

But how he was able to parry all of her attacks, and without seemingly much effort, it was grating to her. The thought that her swordsmanship is somehow still nowhere near perfect, despite all of the hardships she had faced her entire life, it was frustrating.

She needed to know her limits, and his abilities. She needed to know more about him, and perhaps even see through whatever disguise he put on himself. If he cannot explain himself through words, then perhaps his actions could speak better.

Moreover, Tatsumi was not in a condition to fight right now, and she doesn't really have anyone else to spar with. Which made her even more intent on going against the swordsman once more.

Akame unsheathed her sword, Murasame's blade glimmering under the sun. Kai responded the same, pulling out his own sword, its crimson blade... glowing?

"Hold on, Akame! Are you going to kill the new guy so early!?" Lubbock shouted from afar, slightly excited about watching two swordsmen duking it out, but also slightly worried for Kai since Akame's blade wasn't called the One-Cut Killer for nothing.

"Don't worry, I'll only aim for his clothes. If he can't dodge one of my strikes, it's my win. The same goes the other way around." She replied. Kai said nothing so far, instead he simply brought his sword closer to his body.

Akame focused her attention towards the silent swordsman's weapon. Something about it just screams supernatural. Is it an Imperial Arm? But she had never heard of, or even seen one like that before.

More and more questions. More mysteries to uncover. She hated mysteries.

Both swordsmen had their weapons drawn. The only thing separating them being the empty space between.

"Are you prepared?" Akame asked Kai one last time. She got her answer, in the form of silence.

Kai said nothing, he didn't feel the need to. However, he took a moment to pull his scarf as tight as possible around his neck, and pulled the front up to cover his mouth and nose.

Akame was curious about why he did that. Was he finally getting serious? Didn't matter, she'll find out soon anyway.

'So be it.'

She made the first move. He anticipated it.

Clang

Two blades clashed against one another. Akame's eyes remained fixated on Kai's. He still seemed as calm as ever. She wanted to look beneath that facade.

Within a split second, she disappeared from sight. He felt something from behind.

Another clash between metals, as Kai managed to block Akame's blade. She pulled her Murasame away, and swept her leg to bring him down. He jumped away.

She instantly dashed towards him, aiming for his neck. He dodged it, while kicking her blade away.

She was mildly stunned, but immediately recovered. Just in time to parry an incoming strike from the former.

The force of his blade was immense, it pushed her away slightly, and she nearly lost her footing. Feeling her feet touching the ground once more, she narrowly sidestepped another front kick from the silent swordsman.

Akame spun around, and aimed her blade at his feet. Kai responded by also spinning around in midair, and blocked Murasame with his sword.

He briefly regained his footing, and Akame struck again. Yet again, he blocked it.

clang

clink

Clash

Akame reverberating sounds of dancing blades echoed throughout the air. She kept changing positions, in an effort to disorient him. She never gave a single moment of pause, pushing him away with her sword.

Yet, for some reason, he still wouldn't falter. His eyes remained sharp, and his face...

She couldn't make out his face. She couldn't figure out whether he was struggling or being calm. It's because of the damn scarf. She'll have to admit, it was a brilliant tactic. Not letting the opponent see your expressions, so they couldn't know what you're thinking.

She dashed away, taking a moment to catch a breath. He wasn't going to allow it.

With inhuman speed, he thrusted his blade forwards, nearly touching a strand of her hair. She managed to jump away, and returned the favour. He pushed her blade away with his own.

Momentarily releasing his right grip, he delivered an elbow strike towards her face. She saw it coming, and pulled her head down.

She performed a backflip, pulling her leg upwards. He instantly blocked it with the back of his blade, forcing him to take a step back.

She took the opportunity to regain her stance and tried to reassess her strategy. It was clear that simply trying to outpace him offensively wasn't working.

He was fast. Very fast. No matter what, she couldn't find an opening to take advantage of. They have been fighting for over a minute, and yet she couldn't even scratch his clothes.

She had to trick him somehow. Create an opening herself, so she could land the final blow.

Meanwhile, Kai simply stood there, letting her have her precious seconds of peace. She gritted her teeth in contempt. He was holding back.

She's going to make sure he regretted doing so.

Leaping towards Kai in a split second, Akame lifted Murasame, aiming for his head. He responded by bringing up his own sword.

She was hoping he'd do that. Her move was a bait. She spun around, and kicked his hands sideways, causing Kai to release his grip for a while.

He took a step back. She stepped forwards. She thrusted Murasame, aiming for the side of his head, nearly cutting a piece of his hair. But he avoided it.

She saw him dodging her strike, and she wasn't letting him get away again. She swiped the blade horizontally. Kai forced his head down, and rolled to the ground.

She tried to swipe again, but Kai, in the midst of rolling away, had already called his sword back towards his palms, and successfully blocked another one of her strikes.

She clicked her tongue in frustration, once again failing to end the spar in her favor.

In an unexpected move, he spun his body around, and kicked her blade away with tremendous force, pushing her several feet away.

Once again, both swordsmen were separated, with only empty space between them.

Akame didn't realize it, but she was sweating. Moreover, she was infuriated. For once, she was no longer in control of her own emotions.

"Why aren't you giving it your all!? Why are you holding back!? I want to see what you're capable of!!"

Kai stood like a statue, unwavering. His golden stare continued to pierce through hers, but something was different about it. Before, his eyes were calm, like a soft breeze.

Now, it resembled a fiery storm, wild and terbulent.

She still couldn't his face, but she had a powerful feeling he wasn't very happy. Was it something she said?

The silent swordsman remained unmoving.

She heard a gust of wind.

And then he was gone.

Her eyes widened. That was all she could do.

Swhooshh

CRRACKK

rustle

She didn't move an inch, and his blade, was only an inch away from her head. Did he miss?

She could feel a strand of her hair falling off. He didn't miss. At least not unintentionally.

"Im... impossible."

That was the only word she could muster. Her mind was too scrambled to think of anything else.

She knew he was fast. But not like this. She couldn't even see it. For one moment, he was just...gone. And here he was.

Seconds pass by. But it felt like eons.

Kai drew his blade back, and slowly sheathed it. He pulled his scarf down, revealing his face once more. His eyes returned to their once dull look. He turned around, and walked into the forest.

Kai took a deep breath. He lost composure for a while. He couldn't let that happen again.

"I want to see what you're capable of!"

Bad memories. He swiftly repressed such thoughts. Now, it was time to hunt. Shinku needed more blood.

As the silent swordsman walked away, the other swordsman, remained like a statue

Akame was still standing in the same spot. Petrified.

Her entire life, she had strived to become the greatest. To become stronger than anyone else, so she could protect those she held dear, and put an end to those she opposed.

She thought there was only one person who could've best her in a straight duel to the death. General Esdeath herself. And all her life, she mentally prepared herself for the inevitable fight between them.

But now, she felt the need to rethink everything.

"Akame!!"

A worried voice brought her back to reality. She was greeted by Mine's concerned face, along with the rest of Night Raid behind her.

"Akame, you alright? You seemed pale like a ghost." Bulat pointed out.

"I'm...fine."

"That..wasn't very convincing." Lubbock interjected.

"I said I'm fine." She wasn't. Of course not. But she could still pretend.

"So, I guess you...lost, huh?" Bulat stated the obvious.

"Eh? She lost? I thought Kai missed?" Sheele was still catching up to what happened, but her sentence caught Akame's attention.

Kai missed her on purpose. Then what did he hit?

Turning around, the haunting visage rendered her completely awestruck.

A single large tree right behind her, was completely ripped apart. Its trunk completely shattered to pieces, the only thing remaining of the tree, was a torn tree stump. The parts of the tree which was horribly deformed, also seemed to be covered in...blood?

Where did it come from? The sword itself?

But that level of destruction...and it was just a single thrust. The tree was metres away. It wasn't even a direct contact.

She couldn't imagine how she could've fared any better...if she was the target. Such power. It was terrifying.

"Good thing he held back, huh?" Lubbock said quietly, also disturbed by the tree's fate. In fact, everyone was.

"Hey guys! What's up- woah. Uhh..who...did that?" Leone, who had just returned from catching some lunch for herself, was obviously late to the party.

Unknown to the rest of Night Raid, their leader had been watching the spar from an open window back in their base.

Najenda was distraught. It was clear that one of their new members, was an Imperial Arms user. No other weapon could possess such level of power.

Obviously, having such a powerful warrior as an ally would be advantageous to their cause, but Kai is once again, an unknown variable. No one knew who he is, where he came from, or if "Kai" is even his real name.

Trust is a valuable commodity. Moreover, it's a powerful one. Kai, so far had proven to be of worth little to none in that regard.

He was an anomaly, and a dangerous one. His inclusion would possibly turn the tides in this war.

The only problem right now is, she wasn't sure if it would be in their favor.

Author's Note

In case you're wondering, NO I'm not dead. Just braindead, probably.

So, uhh...yeah.. it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry. This update took, ages to finally come. I didn't plan for this to happen, but some personal stuff got in the way and gave me a writer's block, and then I just forgot all about my fanfics. It's shameful to admit it, but sometimes we don't get the free time we needed.

For those of you who had been following since the beginning, thank you for being patient. I didn't plan it to take this long, but again, real life got in the way. Writer's block can be a real bitch.

I have mentioned before in this fic, but if I haven't, I'll inform you: I'm not a fully dedicated writer. I do not have a set schedule on when to write and update my stories. And sometimes, I couldn't even write anything because my mind decided to betray me. So I apologize if the next update would take weeks, or even months, or god forbid, YEARS. I couldn't imagine being gone for that long, and hopefully, I wouldn't have to.

No, I will NOT abandon this story, or any of my other ones. It just...takes a while for me to get going. And sometimes, you just don't have the time to do what you want, as much as you wanted to.

Thank you for reading. Until next time.