Chapter 13 - Chapter 13: Save the Ally

Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness

.

.

.

-The Capital-

(Two years ago)

A few days had passed since his little hunting trip with Esdeath, which had culminated with them bathing in a natural spring together in which she'd unexpectedly given him a surprisingly intimate kiss, just to find out whether or not she was attracted to him. 

Emiya could not understand what was going on through that woman's head, much less make sense of it all. But he preferred not to dwell on it too much; trying to understand a person like her would only cause him headaches, so he decided to take her at her word about him 'not meeting the requirements'. 

A blessing in disguise if he had to say.

He pitied the fool who would end up trapped in her grasp because she'd decided they did meet her five requirements. A joyous occasion for him as it meant her having someone else to irritate every day. 

Woosh! 

But for now, he was still stuck with alleviating Esdeath's boredom, which she'd currently seen fit to achieve by shooting a barrage of ice blocks at him with lethal precision. 

"Stay still!" 

Clad in simple combat attire and leather padding, Emiya danced across the field. Ice blocks, each as big as his skull, whizzed past him with deadly accuracy. He bobbed and weaved, narrowly avoiding the frozen missiles that Esdeath hurled his way. Each near-miss ended with a thunderous crash, the ice shattering against the ground with a force that rivaled cannonfire. Emiya couldn't help but wonder if this was her twisted idea of a workout or just another sadistic game.

"No." 

Did she want him to die? Perhaps. 

"Tch!" The blue-haired woman on the other side of the field, seeing that her attacks were ineffective against him, was forced to change her tactics. Esdeath forewent the ice barrage and instead advanced on him with great speed, her rapier held firmly in hand. 

"Hah!" 

Her weapon was thrust forward aiming for his chest, only to be deflected by an identical rapier Emiya was using. 

Both of them had the exact same gear, but one side commanded a Teigu, yet the battle still fell in favor of the one who did not possess an Imperial Arm.

"Ha!" His body twisted around, creating momentum until his leg came sweeping at her face, catching her by surprise and kicking her body away. "Hm?" 

Upon impact, Emiya felt a strange sensation and stared at her to find that just around her face a small layer of ice had sprouted, which managed to absorb most of the power behind his kick even as it broke apart. "That's new."

An interesting way to use her powers, that thing was very versatile. Much more than he anticipated. 

"Not good enough," she said, wiping a bit of blood from her nose. "It still takes longer to form the armor than I'd like, for how simple it should be. Had I been a second slower then my jaw would have been dislocated." 

"Nothing you haven't been able to heal from in the past." 

Brutal was one way to describe their regular duels, in which the better part of a liter's worth of blood spilling was a regular occurrence, with occasional dislocation and broken bones not being absent during and after their fights either. Esdeath had been on the receiving end for most of it, but her injuries kept getting less severe with each battle, serving as further proof of how she kept improving at a monstrous pace. 

At this point his once overwhelming advantage in skills and battle experience barely sufficed to keep her down, forcing him to use Reinforcement in order to inflict enough damage to actually win the duels and avoid stretching them out longer than necessary. Then again, her strength and speed could no longer be considered within the realm of humanly possible. 

Even Najenda, with her relentless training regimen that would make most soldiers weep, couldn't hold a candle to Esdeath anymore. The gap between them had grown too wide, despite Najenda's near-obsessive dedication to improvement. It was a stark reminder of just how monstrous Esdeath's growth truly was.

Looking down at the field, he took note of the multiple broken rapiers used in this fight — even the one in his hand had chipped edges and multiple cracks. This was also starting to become a regular occurrence and as not to be wasteful, he just ended up Tracing his own weapon. 

"How do you do that?" Esdeath asked, discarding her own weapon and staring at the one in his grasp.

"How do I do what?" 

"Create swords? I'm not asking how your weird powers work, but instead how you use them to create weapons like that one. What if you wanted to make a greatsword or a spear instead?" 

Some sensitive questions, but he wasn't exactly against answering them if she was the one asking. But Esdeath had witnessed his Tracing for a good while now and never inquired about it before. But from where her current curiosity now came from, he could guess. 

"You want to do the same using Demon's Extract?" 

"Kinda," she raised her hand, and above her palm formed a rough icicle with plenty of jagged edges. She concentrated and the ice itself started to shift, growing longer and thinner, but cracked and began to fall apart as it lost its structural integrity. "I can successfully create simple objects, like a chair or even armor with my ice. I've even done small sculptures of dolls or crude weapons like a club. But when it comes to weapons with a fine edge, I can't seem to do much better than a narrow icicle."

"…Any reason why you even want to try in the first place?" 

She gave him a look as if he'd asked an exceedingly dumb question. "To use it against you of course. What else?" 

Brutally honest as ever. 

"What if I refuse to help you?" 

"Then I will eventually learn it by myself. I'm just trying to save myself the trouble since you are more familiar with this sort of thing than I am." 

Emiya highly doubted telling her about the seven steps of Tracing would bear any worthwhile results for Esdeath; her powers did not involve recreating the weapon in question with all its history and abilities. But she was right, at her rate of growth she would eventually figure it out sooner than later, but there was no shame in asking for advice from someone more experienced in a particular field. It was just like what she'd recently done in requesting lessons in archery from him. 

"It's not as easy to explain as you might think," his arm came near hers with his palm raised, and above his hands, multiple motes of light gathered and quickly took the shape of a standard sword without any handguard; a gladius. "I have been doing this for so long that it has become second nature to me. Similar to how you just know what to look for when tracking a Danger Beast." 

"…" 

Esdeath's eyes remained focused on the gladius, tracing her fingers along the edge and then flinching. A thin line of crimson appeared on her fingertip, blood welling up from the clean cut. 

She looked more impressed than anything else.

"But if I had to give you some pointers, it would be to first understand the underlying idea or purpose behind what you are attempting to create. First make a base blueprint of the weapon in your mind, detailing everything about the weapon's shape down to the smallest groove in the metal and the patterns on its surface. Try to have your ice imitate the same materials used for its creation and let it take the shape of the weapon." He skipped a few steps, but Esdeath did not need to know them as it would serve her no purpose. "Of course, given the differences in our abilities, I'm sure there will still be some things you'll have to figure out on your own."

The next moment, another icicle formed above her palm. This one was around the same length as the gladius with even a section at the base that resembled a handle. But the blade was still far from being smooth and sharp. 

"It's harder than it looks." She mumbled, visibly struggling to keep her construct stable. "It's far less flexible than I'd like and I can tell it's not even durable enough to withstand a single strike against your own creation, or any decent sword for that matter." 

"It is ice after all…" he reminded her dryly. "What exactly is going through your mind when making these weapons?"

"Me? Well, I imagine drawing the weapon on a piece of paper in my mind. I add every single detail I can, starting from the handle. But by the time I am done with that part though, I don't know how to recreate the edge of the blade without it being so thin and fragile that the ice just ends up breaking apart as soon as I hit anything with it." 

That… was actually an interesting way of using her powers, he had to admit. "How about the large iceberg and the other constructs you have made?" 

"Simple things like a big block, icicles, or blasts of cold? That's pure instinct," Esdeath explained, a glint in her eye. "I just tap into memories of my homeland — the biting cold seeping through furs, the unforgiving tundra stretching on endlessly. A place where anything exposed freezes solid in minutes." She smirked, demonstrating her point. The air around them chilled rapidly, Emiya's breath misting before his eyes. Frost crept across the grass at Esdeath's feet, spreading outward in a growing circle of ice. "See? No thought required. It just happens because I desire it."

"I suppose it makes sense why you are so compatible with this Teigu." He couldn't help but chuckle, "You can already accomplish this much yet are trying to do something as pointless as making weapons shaped from ice." Her icicles were plenty deadly enough, changing them into the shape of a sword would not change much in his opinion. 

"Well, that is for me to decide." Her hand dashed forward and grabbed the Roman gladius from his hand, swinging it around a couple of times to test its weight. "Maybe I should take a different approach." 

"Hmm, could be that you need to experiment in your private time with different types of ice. Most likely though you just require more regular practice if you want to make this work. It's only been a few days since you got this Teigu. Don't expect to master it so quickly, especially since you're the first person to ever successfully use it."

"If I stagnate then the gap between us will grow bigger. I cannot accept that." A thin layer of ice started to encompass the weapon — going so far as to form a handguard. More grew on her hand and forearm until it turned into something resembling another layer of armor around her right arm and shoulder. The gladius was now pointed at him, and she smirked. "Let's continue our little dance." 

"Hmph," in response, he Traced a simple European longsword. "How many times have we done this today already?"

"Don't know, I stopped counting after twenty." 

"So you've lost to me at least twenty-one times, got it." 

"Why you!" 

.

.

.

"Huff… finally some rest." 

The sparring sessions lasted for another few rounds right until sunset. Esdeath forced him to acquire several more wins before he put his foot down, deciding to retire for the night and have a bath to relax. 

The bath could more accurately be described as a spring at the back of the manor, similar to the one Esdeath had shown him during their hunt. Except this one was much bigger and surrounded by brick walls along with a small wood hut for changing.

His tired body had been soaking in the water for the past half hour. 

Even if he won all the spars, Emiya no longer possessed the borderline infinite stamina of a Servant. Fighting for hours with regular usage of Reinforcement eventually started to wear him down, unlike a certain blue-haired monster of a woman who already qualified as superhuman, and would always recover completely in an hour. 

"At this rate, she'll be the death of me," Emiya muttered, sinking deeper into the water. He closed his eyes, savoring the rare moment of peace. The gentle lapping of the spring against the rocks was a welcome change from Esdeath's relentless attacks. As the tension slowly eased from his muscles, he couldn't help but wonder how long this respite would last before she inevitably dragged him into another 'training' session.

"…Oh… ger… y?" 

"G… you… hand… me!"

"Haha….!" 

A foreboding sensation came over him when he heard two familiar voices come from the outside. 

"Oh no…" Emiya groaned, his relaxation evaporating. The voices grew clearer, confirming his worst fears. It was definitely those two troublemakers. He sank lower into the water, hoping against hope they'd go away. But of course, the universe wasn't that kind. He heard the hut's outer door rattle insistently as they tried to force their way in. Emiya pinched the bridge of his nose, bracing himself for the chaos that was sure to follow. Some days, he wondered if he was cursed to never have a moment's peace.

"Occupied!" Emiya barked, praying they'd take the hint and leave. But of course, the universe had other plans.

"Oh, it's just you, Emiya?" Najenda's voice rang out. "Perfect! I'm drenched in sweat from training hard all day. Open up, I need that bath!"

"Just give me five minutes!" Emiya pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears. A metallic snap echoed through the hut's walls, followed by the creaking of the door. Before he could protest further, Esdeath and Najenda sauntered in, each wearing nothing but a towel draped casually over their shoulders. Their well-developing figures were on full display, much to Emiya's chagrin.

"See? That wasn't so difficult," Esdeath smirked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

Najenda matched her friend's grin, clearly enjoying Emiya's discomfort. "A little company never hurt anyone."

Emiya's jaw clenched in annoyance. "You broke the lock. Who do you think is going to have to fix that?"

Esdeath waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry so much about it. I've seen you fix worse."

"That's not the point!"

"Details, details," Najenda chimed in, already stepping towards the hot water. "Now, budge over. There's plenty of room for all of us."

Both wasted no time tossing their towels to the side and jumping into the water, laughing at his expense. He did not know whether they were doing all this deliberately and were getting a kick at trying to get a reaction from him, or just didn't care about social norms. 

…No, they were definitely doing this deliberately! 

"Hey, where are you going?" Right as he was about to leave, Najenda grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. "Don't be all grumpy, let yourself relax and enjoy being in the company of two beautiful and sexy young ladies." 

"I would much prefer the company of silence." This was the second time today they'd barged in on what should have been a moment of peace for him, and he lamented the apparent impossibility of getting any time for himself anymore with these two around. "You could at least bother to wear a towel around yourselves…" 

Esdeath rolled her eyes, completely unfazed. "Oh please, it's nothing you haven't seen before. Besides, this is what, the second time this week we've shared a bath? At this point, modesty seems a bit redundant, don't you think?"

Najenda's head whipped around, "What, second time? When?" 

"Oh, you didn't know? Emiya and I went hunting not that long ago. Ended up covered in our prey's blood and had to clean ourselves. Fortunately, there was a spring nearby to help wash off." She said, not going too much into detail about what actually happened, which he silently appreciated. 

But unfortunately, that was still enough of an explanation for Najenda to grab his ears and pull with an expression of disbelief. "Are you seriously hitting on my best friend the moment I turn a blind eye, dear brother mine? Am I not enough for you?" 

He slapped her hand away, getting a pout from the older girl.

"Nothing happened, you idiot," Emiya scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Esdeath was just bored out of her mind and threatening to start a coup if I didn't entertain her somehow. So I put her to work sorting through reports about Danger Beast sightings near the outlying farms and villages."

He gave Najenda a quick rundown of the hunting trip, carefully omitting any compromising details. As he spoke, her grip on his ear loosened, her expression shifting from suspicion to amusement.

"Alright, alright," Najenda chuckled, releasing him entirely. "I suppose I can let you off the hook this time."

She settled back into the water, seemingly satisfied with his explanation. But before Emiya could relax, Najenda yanked him closer, pressing him against her chest with a mischievous grin.

"Just remember, dear little brother," she teased, "I've got my eye on you."

"You don't have to worry about me having any interest in this brat, Najenda. He doesn't meet my requirements." Esdeath reassured her with a knowing look pointed at him. "I double-checked."

"Eh? How do you even double che—"

Bang!

The door to the spring's hut once again was forcefully opened. 

'What now…' the former Servant of the Bow groaned mentally. Honestly, he couldn't get a moment of peace even if it wasn't these two causing a commotion! 

"L-Lady Najenda! Lady Najen—oh my!" One of the maids came running over and was instantly stunned by seeing all three of them naked together in the water. Whatever she was going to say got stuck in her throat and she started to stammer.

"What is going on?" Emiya demanded.

Going by her pale complexion and the way she came running in frantically, he realized that something was not right. His question seemed to have broken her out of her flustered state and started to speak again. 

"I-It's your father, Master Nagumo… h-he's… he has…" 

In an instant, the prior atmosphere was completely shattered and Emiya saw Najenda's face also turn pale with fear showing in her eyes. 

"What's wrong with my dad!?"

.

.

.

He saw this coming for a while, an unavoidable moment he knew awaited them at some point in the future. 

But… not this soon. 

"I am sorry that I have to inform you of this, but General Nagumo has passed away in his sleep." The physicians and soldiers standing in the hallway were in complete silence as one of the former presented this news to the pair of adopted siblings. 

Najenda's hands were shaking, but she did not cry. 

"Leave us, we wish to be alone with him," Emiya ordered. Despite him holding no rank within the military, the men offered no words of objection whatsoever and left them alone. Entering the room, he saw the old man lying on his bed peacefully. Looking as if he was sleeping rather than being dead. 

"Dad…" 

He heard her call out to the man, and he felt a pang of sorrow for the girl. Emiya was not close enough with the old man to see him as his father. It was not an idea he entertained at any point since he awakened in the body of that young boy who survived that destroyed village. But he did consider Nagumo as a kind caretaker who had given a lone orphan a life that most in this backward empire could only dream of. A kind man who did everything in his power to help people and be one of the few saving graces of this deteriorating nation. 

Now, he was gone, leaving Najenda to inherit everything far sooner than she should have. 

He put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to cry. No one is here to see it. You don't have to hold it all in, not with me." 

Najenda crumpled against Emiya's chest, her composure finally shattering. Muffled sobs wracked her body as she clung to him, her tears soaking through his shirt. The room fell silent save for her choked cries, the raw grief of a daughter mourning her father.

Emiya said nothing, simply holding her close as the night wore on. He stroked her back gently, offering what little comfort he could as she poured out her sorrow. Hours passed, but he didn't move, letting Najenda grieve for as long as she needed.

During all of this, the news of General Nagumo's death reached the ears of a certain obese Prime Minister's ears, who at that moment was gorging himself on a feast's worth of meat and dessert inside the Imperial Palace. 

"So he's finally dead. Took bloody long enough."

(Flashback End)

{Break}

-Night Raid Hideout-

Beneath the velvet cloak of night, the forest came alive with a symphony of soft rustling leaves and the occasional chirp of hidden creatures. The moon hung low, casting pale silver rays that dappled through the canopy of ancient trees, bathing the ground in fragmented light. Fireflies drifted lazily, their glow adding an ethereal element to the wilderness surrounding the hideout of Night Raid.

Flickers of faint light seeped through cracks and windows, hints of life within the stronghold. The sound of water trickling from a nearby stream added a gentle cadence to the nocturnal hum. 

"Ha!" 

The calm atmosphere was abruptly ended by a roaring sound followed by the clash of claws meeting steel.

In a moonlit clearing not far from the hideout, Leone and Akame clashed in fierce combat. Their movements were fluid yet deadly, each strike and parry executed with lethal precision. Leone's bestial growls mixed with the sharp clangs of Akame's blade, creating a cacophony that shattered the night's tranquility. 

Moving back and forth with every clash creating sparks illuminating their faces for a brief moment. Intense golden eyes stared back at crimson orbs.

Sweat streamed down both of their faces, both combatants breathing haggardly with even the dulled practice sword that Akame held shaking ever so slightly despite her tightened grasp. 

Leone on the other hand felt her gaze drift downwards, eyeing the cheaply made metal vambraces she'd put on to protect her forearms, with dents and scratches all over them. A small bruise was forming on the back of her right hand and a bit of the skin had broken, letting out a slow trickle of blood which against this foe, would normally be no different than swift and imminent death.

It was the result of her frustration getting the better of her, causing her to become too aggressive and overextending herself on a blow, which Akame had swiftly taken advantage of.

"Akame wins again, it's nine points for her and two for you, Leone." From the side, the rest of the assassin group was gathered, sitting on the grass watching the fight with varying degrees of interest. Several lanterns lit up the area thanks to Lubbock arranging them up high with his strings. "Good thing we stopped our betting game, I've never seen you lose so much." 

"Not like anyone was willing to bet on Leone to win anyway, which is why we stopped." Mine pointed out with a dry tone and a knife in hand which she used to cut an apple and pass a few pieces to Sheele, who looked as though she would be falling asleep any moment now. 

"It's all in good fun, we weren't using the money for the bet in the first place after all," Bulat added, having also joined the group of bystanders with a mug of ale in hand. "But Lubbock has a point, it's very strange to see Leone lose and make silly mistakes this often when fighting. Hope you at least learned something from observing her faults, Tatsumi." 

"These two are monsters! Who fights nonstop like that without taking breaks!?" 

"Hahaha! Welcome to Night Raid, buddy!" 

Hearing the crowd's conversation continue in the background, Leone had enough and turned to smash her beastly fist against one of the trees, breaking off a large chunk. "Fucking damn it!" 

Her outrage made the scene turn dead silent, with plenty of eyes now locked onto her with a couple of them sighing at the display. 

"So sparring with Akame isn't a good enough way for you to vent, and now you resort to destroying random bits of vegetation?" Mine noted haughtily. "Honestly, why am I not surprised, coming from a brute with more boobs than brains?"

"Shut it, washboard! Not the time for your snarky attitude! I'm not in the mood for it!" Leone roared back, she yanked off the dented vambraces, flinging them aside with a clatter. "It's been a full day — almost two now — since Boss told us to leave her behind while she went to look for her brother. Ever since then, there hasn't been so much as a sign or peep from either of them, and you expect me to just sit here twiddling my thumbs until they show up?" 

There had been lots of thoughts going through her mind for a while now. Not only had their mission been a failure, but now two of their top members were currently missing and possibly left to deal with a psychotic killer bitch and possibly other generals from the Empire right in the heart of enemy territory. The fact that Najenda ordered them to wait for her return instead of letting them accompany her in retrieving Emiya did not sit well with the blonde girl even a little bit. 

"…"

Her sentiment was shared amongst several members of the group. 

"Do we have a plan in case they still don't show up?" Lubbock asked, feeling the same thing as Leone but managing to keep a calm outward appearance. She knew he was itching to just rush into the Empire and go help their leader just like plenty of others here, but once again, they had agreed to follow orders and trust their leader to keep her word. 

"In cases like this, it is always better to inform the leaders of the Revolutionary Army of what happened first." Bulat took the reins and had everyone direct their attention to him. "I know all of you are worried, so am I, but we need to keep a cool head for now. If the Empire had indeed captured or even killed those two then we would have already gotten wind of it."

Mine agreed, "He's right, there is no way those bastards wouldn't take the opportunity to parade their corpses through the streets to mark such an achievement. That they haven't means we can assume both of them are still fine."

"Najenda is strong." 

"See? Sheele agrees with me." 

They had a point, so Leonie cooled her head and took a deep breath. Their boss was not one to be underestimated, especially when she was armed with Pumpkin. That weapon when under her control was a completely different tool of destruction compared to when Mine had briefly used it. But she was also worried about their newest addition. While she had seen firsthand that the guy was capable when he took down Zank all on his own, she had no idea how well he would fare against some of the strongest enemies the Empire had to throw at him. 

But right now, all she could do was trust that they'd come back safe and sound, even if they were taking their sweet time in doing so.

"Hah… I guess you're right… Sorry about my little outburst there, Akame. I'll treat you to some hotcakes tomorrow for breakfast, what do you say?" She grinned, immediately getting the black-haired swordsman to look at her with rapt attention and nod enthusiastically. "Great, I'm going to have a nice rinse to clean off all this sweat before I relax in the hot spring. Come and join me later." 

Leone sauntered over to the group, her stomach growling loudly. All that fighting had worked up quite an appetite. She snagged a plate of snacks, popping one into her mouth without much thought. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, well," she mused, reaching for another. "This isn't half bad. Can't be Mine's cooking — we'd all be laid up with food poisoning. And Bulat's been out here training the entire day." She cast a sidelong glance at Tatsumi. "Don't tell me our new recruit's been holding out on us. These your handiwork, kid?"

The brown-haired boy flinched as she spoke to him, quickly nodding his head and looking away which made her frown. 

A faint suspicion rose in her mind upon seeing his behavior. "Don't tell me this is about the mission…" 

His surprised reaction made her realize she was right on the mark. 

"Hah… listen, don't blame yourself for what happened. The boss and all of us agreed to go with it and it didn't work out. That's normal, it happens to everyone." She said calmly, hoping her words would get through to him, but it seemed that her words didn't have the intended effect given how his expression just darkened. 

"It's still my fault that I put us in that situation. Had I not tried to approach my old sergeant to make her change her mind… then none of this would have happened." 

That sergeant of his… Truthfully, Leone could not comment much on the situation, for she knew next to nothing about the girl. Aside from the bit about how this Ubiquitous girl had apparently read every piece of propaganda the Empire had ever published, and believed every word of it. After all the chaos that happened in the Capital, she and Akame regrouped as quickly as they could with their boss before waiting for Emiya and Tatsumi to arrive. But as time went on they all noticed that something was not normal, and only Tatsumi managed to return. 

It was when they saw ice starting to form around the outer city walls that dread filled her being. A ruthless killer who had conquered the Northern region and many other territories through ruthless means, from slaughtering entire villages to having her men defile the women en masse before torturing the survivors and then sending them on their way to nurture their hatred. A monster like that was fighting Emiya, and she was ready to head over there to assist him only to be stopped by Najenda who ordered her and the others to return to base. The boss had even threatened to kick her out of the group if she disobeyed.

"You can't see the future, brat. And just like I said before, we all knew the risks and agreed to go there regardless. So if you really want to blame anyone then we are all at fault."

"…Do you think they are…" 

"They're alive," the one who ended up answering was surprisingly Mine, who spoke with a firm tone leaving no room for anyone to contradict her. "Najenda is not some naive idiot like you. If she went there then she definitely had a plan. And as long as the Empire doesn't declare them dead with their bodies hanging off the gallows or their heads stuck on a spear then they are definitely alive!" 

The twin-tail girl's firm answer ended up cheering Leone up a bit inside. "She's right, our boss is a force to be reckoned with and her brother is also kind of a badass. And we can't forget that according to Lubbock, they've taken on Esdeath before. Besides, I heard rumors from one of my informants at the tavern that those three used to be fuck buddies! So they'll probably work out their issues in a much more fun way than trying to kill each other."

"Pfffffftttttt!" 

Lubbock, who had been mostly quiet after announcing the winner of the sparring match, sprayed all the liquor he'd been drinking onto Akame's face and her own plate of snacks. As he was left choking and coughing many times at what he'd heard, the room erupted into laughter at his extreme reaction. All except for Akame, whose usually stoic expression was momentarily replaced with wide-eyed shock, her face and food now dripping with spit-flavored ale. 

"What kind of nonsense are you saying!? Those two are siblings for God's sake!" Lubbock yelped.

"You did not deny it with the Esdeath part," Sheele noted with a tilt of her head.

"I don't care about whatever that psycho bitch gets up to or who she's into, but Miss Najenda would obviously never cross such a line, nor would Emiya. They're siblings after all! That tavern talk you heard was just baseless rumors, Leone!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. They aren't related by blood, so it wouldn't be that big of an issue." Mine used this opportunity to add more fuel to the fire with a malicious smirk on her face. "In fact, it's not unheard of to see such relationships among aristocrats even when they are. If I remember correctly, one of our targets from just a few months ago was a baron who married his sister after killing their parents."

"Miss Najenda is not that kind of person!" shouted Lubbock desperately, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than the others at this point.

The pink-haired girl went for the throat, "You never know. But if that is what will help you sleep at night then all power to you. Still, did you see the face she made when he first walked through those doors? They had a lot of emotions behind them, and they were not the kind a woman shows to a guy she only sees as her little brother."

"…Y-Y-You…" reaching the limit of his anger, the green-headed assassin got up from his seat and rolled up his sleeves with several lines glinting from the moonlight. "If you keep talking then—"

"—Rather than trying to act all tough and scary in front of us, you should first deal with the angry assassin behind you who you covered in the booze you spat onto her," Leone cut in with a cheshire grin.

"Eh?"

The boy froze on his spot and slowly turned his head around mechanically till he saw the black-haired woman slowly wiping off the ale with the back of her hand, her gaze locking onto him with an intensity that could freeze the atmosphere. 

A sensation was no different from being stared down by a very angry Super Class Danger Beast.

"You…" Akame said quietly, her voice low as she dropped the ruined food, a foreboding growl coming from both her throat and stomach while she slowly grabbed and unsheathed Murasame.

"W-W-W-Wait, I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean—" Lubbock stammered, his face turning pale as he scrambled to his feet and hastily backed away from the slowly approaching assassin.

"Run," Bulat muttered, taking a sip of his drink with a knowing smirk.

"Waaahh!" 

Before anyone could blink, Akame shot forward like an arrow, her movements swift and precise. Lubbock promptly yelped and dashed off into the forest, his frantic apologies fading into the distance as Akame pursued him like a predator chasing her prey.

"Guess he deserved that," Mine said nonchalantly, tossing another slice of apple into her mouth.

Leone snickered, shaking her head. "That's what he gets for being a creep. Did you see how his eyes lit up when I invited Akame to the bath?" She paused, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You know, those rumors aren't just tavern talk; the three of them used to be really close. I'm half-tempted to ask the boss about it myself… if I didn't think she'd hand me my own ass for it." With a roguish grin, she leaned back, lacing her fingers behind her head. "But man, wouldn't that be something? Like some kind of fairy tale of forbidden love… Hm?" 

It was faint. 

A sound… 

Amongst the many metal threads all around their location, she spotted one of them vibrate. 

"Someone's here. West, approaching slowly." In the middle of trying to escape Akame, Lubbock suddenly came to a complete stop with his expression changing drastically, going completely stoic with everyone following suit by also preparing their weapons. Even Tatsumi grabbed his sword.

Leone's eyes narrowed as she listened intently. "Tch, don't tell me that fat bastard Honest actually managed to sniff us out," she growled. Her enhanced senses picked up on approaching footsteps — just two sets, oddly enough. She frowned, perplexed. "Weird… only sounds like a couple of 'em. And they ain't exactly trying to be stealthy." She glanced at the others, her posture tense. "Could be a trap. Stay sharp, everyone."

"Wait…"

Her eyes and everyone else's, widened when the two shadows drew closer until their faces were illuminated by the surrounding lanterns. 

"Well, well. Quite the welcome party we've got here," Najenda's amused voice cut through the tension. She emerged from the shadows, her trademark smirk firmly in place, with Emiya following close behind. Both looked no worse for wear, as if they'd just returned from a leisurely stroll rather than a potentially deadly mission. "Miss us that much, or were you lot planning to take a crack at us?"

'They're safe…' She wanted to go over there and wrap those two tightly in a great big bear hug, but a certain green-haired perv beat her to it.

"Miss Najenda!" Lubbock didn't waste any time jumping over towards the woman with tears rolling off his eyes — only to have his heartfelt reunion be ruined by the silver-haired woman throwing something at him. 

"Oof!" 

Not just something, but a bloody figure pitifully groaning in pain. They landed right on top of the shocked Lubbock who nearly had his lips touch someone else's mouth. 

Leone, rather than laugh at the absurd scene, found herself squinting her eyes since the bloody figure looked suspiciously familiar. The star-shaped scar across his face immediately brought up the face of an exceedingly arrogant asshole. 

But last she recalled, he did not have a missing eye nor was he missing an arm. 

"Is that… Honest's son?" 

What the hell happened back there!?

.

.

.

(A few hours later)

Shambhala, a most interesting Teigu in Emiya's opinion. 

The eight-sided device shaped like an emblem was different from the other Teigus as a whole. From Murasame's ability to inflict a deadly curse from a single cut, Bulat's Incursio where a living beast still resided, somehow escaped death and in a way… another cursed weapon like Akame's blade that could endanger the very wearer. 

From every Teigu he encountered, the one in his hand stood out the most for the versatility of its simplistic yet powerful ability. 

He had many thoughts going through his mind when looking at it, the feeling of being accepted by the device… with not an ounce of rejection, brought forth a mixed sensation within him. 

But he pushed those away, throwing the device onto his stuff without a second glance. 

"Are you sure you want to discard such a precious Teigu just like that? Here I was thinking that we'd finally found one that would pique your interest." 

At the doorway leading to his room, Najenda stood leaning against the wall. Her arms were crossed and she wore a nightgown that covered little more than the essentials, and it even had translucent fabric in certain areas.. At this point he was just glad she was at least wearing panties underneath.

"It's an intriguing device, I'll give it that," he admitted, his voice carrying a mix of acceptance and indifference as he returned his attention to the device. "The ability to mark locations infinitely for teleportation, as long as I've got the stamina, and even establish an enclosed domain — it's undeniably versatile. Perfect for someone skilled in both long-range and close-quarters combat who can form a plan of attack in advance. But…" He sighed, running a hand through his hair, the weariness evident in his expression. "I don't really need it."

She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a skeptical smirk. "You don't need it, or are you trying to say you can already replicate it and just don't want the original? Wait—" she held up a hand, cutting him off before he could respond. "Don't bother answering. I already know."

"It's better for it to serve someone else who actually needs it than be in my hands when I already have more than enough." His gaze met hers, steady but unbothered. Frowning slightly at the slight stench of alcohol and tobacco filling his room. "Also, I can't copy everything."

"Oh, please," she scoffed, waving a hand. "Other than Esdeath's Demon's Extract, There's never been a single thing I've seen you fail to replicate."

"Because the vast majority of the most powerful items to be found in the Empire are blades, swords, or bows, which I told you are my specialty." Najenda remained one of the very few people who had a basic understanding of his Tracing abilities. But her misconceptions that he could just Trace everything persisted in her mind, and admittedly his past actions did not help in correcting that belief. "I also can't Trace Hekatonkheires."

"The biological Teigu? That's understandable — it's pretty unique even among Imperial Arms," she replied, her tone more curious than dismissive. She reached for Shambhala, her focus sharpening as she concentrated on the device. After a long moment of silence, she spoke again, her voice quieter but pointed. "Hey, Emiya… I think we should talk about what happened between you and Esdeath back there."

He paused, instinctively tensing. He should have seen this coming. This was a conversation she was bound to bring up eventually. The way she'd been glancing at him since the encounter, the weight of unsaid words hanging between them — he knew she had been itching to address it. So, he waited, letting her set the pace.

"I was scared when I realized she'd come for you," she admitted, her eyes distant. "For a moment, it felt like I was reliving the same nightmare from two years ago."

"That's understandable," he replied, his tone even. "It's why I had to part ways with you, and we didn't exactly part on friendly terms back then."

"I half-expected her to turn the entire Capital into a frozen wasteland the moment she showed up. Honestly, if it weren't for Syura sending you both to that island…" She trailed off, her expression uneasy.

"Oh, she was more than ready to accept that level of collateral damage," Emiya interjected with a grim certainty. He had no doubt that Esdeath wouldn't have hesitated to freeze every living thing in the Capital if it meant gaining the upper hand.

"But she didn't," she continued, her voice tinged with disbelief. "Not even the island you two were stranded on became the frozen hellscape I expected. That's… surprising, considering we're talking about Esdeath."

"She's many things," he said with a slight sigh, "but careless isn't one of them. Stranded in the middle of nowhere with no clear way back, she wasn't going to destroy everything around her and risk making her own situation worse. As much as she hates and wants to defeat me, she's far too calculative to be that reckless."

Her expression shifted, a teasing smirk breaking through her previous unease. "Does her trying to kill you involve her wearing a swimsuit made of scraps from her own uniform and some leaves, along with setting up a cozy little ice cabin where you two could 'fight' each other to your hearts' content?"

His eyes twitched. The memory resurfaced with a jolt — the awkward aftermath of their encounter. After he sent Esdeath back to the capital through Syura's teleportation mark, he spent another hour on that cursed island, recovering his strength and trying to forget… certain details. Details Najenda had discovered when she stumbled across the remains of their "handiwork" that had been left behind — evidence Syura and his summoned Danger Beasts hadn't bothered to destroy.

"Nothing like that happened between us," he said, not exactly lying with his answer. He was still uncertain how to feel about the kiss between them that would have escalated had they not been attacked. "I know for a fact that Esdeath is not in love with me, she is not a maiden searching for her prince. Should I remind you that she wants to fight me to the death?"

"Yet she is very much obsessed with you, no matter how much you two try to deny it. Whether it be out of some weird form of twisted love or something else entirely, I can't really say. But she was always fond of you from the beginning… I still remember how glued she was to you when we all hung out together."

"That was another time. Things are… different now." That woman was a headache whether she was present or not. Best to just focus on other matters. "In any case, what are you planning on doing with Syura? I was expecting you to just kill him as soon as you got your hands on him." 

She sighed, "I wanted to… I really, really wanted to end that disgusting piece of human-shaped excrement's life, but Headquarters believes his life holds some worth to the Prime Minister that we can exploit. I received a message from the Revolutionary Army that the higher-ups are discussing a possible trade with Honest. Word is they may try to ask for the Northern Regions to be handed over to us in return for his son's safe return. If successful they want to establish a stronger hold on the region by increasing manpower and establish a small base with those from the surviving northern tribes who are willing to join us to provide the manpower." 

That was not something he wanted to hear, "A trade… you can't be serious." He was entirely against this deal, finding it completely idiotic. "Are you even hearing what you are saying? We both know the kind of man Honest is! He would rather kill his own son a thousand times over if it meant keeping every last bit of power he currently holds in the Empire and all its surrounding territories and colonies."

"I know." 

So she said, but he continued just in case. "Even if by some miracle he were to agree to this exchange, there is nothing stopping him from sending Esdeath back up there once more to reclaim the territory. And trust me, she will not fall for the same trick again."

He went through multiple hurdles to make sure the people from the northern region would not turn into casualties of war and secure them a safe route to get out of there before the main army arrived. And now hearing that these higher-ups were planning on not only taking that territory for themselves by exchanging the prime minister's son, but even bringing those who left back into the fight.

This was just plain stupidity. 

"Listen, Emiya. I know what you're saying, and between you and me I completely agree with it. But that is just an idea, we have not finalized it and a few people besides myself brought up other alternatives. I for one very much want to have him executed in public to boost our troop's morale, we desperately need something like that at this time instead of regaining some territory which is bound to be lost once more." After saying that, the woman crawled into the middle of his bed before wrapping his blanket around her. "We will talk about this more later. For now, let's go to sleep."

"…I was planning on getting some sleep, but how do you expect me to do that now that you've stolen my bed?" He asked wryly, getting a feeling of deja vu. "Go back to your own room." 

She ignored his words and closed her eyes, getting comfortable, smothering her face into his pillow. 

"If I leave now, then there is a chance you will use this opportunity to run away and have another secret romantic fight with Esdeath with both of you tearing each other's clothes off. As your awesome and beautiful older sister, who by the way does not approve of you doing that, I shall remain here to keep you from gallivanting with strange women." 

His eyes twitched at her deliberately using an annoyingly cutesy voice at the last part. She was most definitely teasing him. 

"Come on now, get undressed and come join your big sister under the sheets. It's been a while since we slept together, I can't even remember when was the last time we had such a moment where we held each other so close at night like this." 

"Because we never did, I always kicked you out." 

"There is nothing weird about this." She tried to argue, putting an innocent smile on her face without even bothering to hide her amused expression. "Don't worry, I won't pick at you or make any comments. So hurry up, we have a long day tomorrow—ah!" 

Rather than entertain her antics any further, Emiya scooped Najenda up in his arms, bridal style, just like he used to when they were younger. She let out a surprised yelp before dissolving into laughter at his obvious annoyance. Undeterred, she looped her arms around his neck, pulling herself flush against his chest, her soft curves pressing into him. "Come on, Emiya, lighten up! We're not kids anymore, true, but that doesn't mean I have to act like a general 24/7. Live a little!"

"You just enjoy pushing my buttons," he grumbled, but there was no real heat behind it as he stepped out of his room, holding Najenda securely in his arms. 

"Guilty as charged," she grinned unrepentantly. "But seriously, it's exhausting being in command mode all the time. Let me have this, just for a bit. You're the one person I know I never have to put up any kind of front for."

Emiya sighed but said nothing, continuing to carry her down the moonlit hallway. Najenda relaxed against him, her head nestled in the crook of his neck, savoring the rare moment of peace and closeness.

"Mm, this takes me back," she murmured, nostalgia coloring her tone.

"No matter how much time passes, you're still the same bratty kid at heart," Emiya said wryly. "Esdeath was a terrible influence on you. Both of you were always so damn needy, constantly demanding my attention."

"Ha! As if she needed any help in that department!" Najenda laughed heartily. Her expression grew thoughtful as fond old memories resurfaced, though there was also sorrow.

"You know, I really do miss those years. Life was much simpler back then. I did not have to manage an assassin organization which itself was an elite strike force for a revolutionary organization all whilst running and hiding from the Empire. Nor did I have to deal with seeing my comrades who followed me dying and bearing the hopes of hundreds of thousands of individuals all counting on us to put an end to this tyranny. Much less painful and stressful."

"Like spending your entire day inside the manor's library reading piles upon piles of historical books? I thought you hated that and preferred to train." He reminded the girl of her past self, how she'd wail on and on about how the idea of just spending the entire day reading and doing chores sounded like torture to her.

"It doesn't seem so bad now…" Najenda chuckled, her breath tinged with the unmistakable scent of booze and cigars. Emiya's nose wrinkled involuntarily as he caught a whiff. 

"I told you to keep it down with the drinking and smoking, we don't want certain incidents of the past to repeat themselves again." 

She smiled at his scolding, "I'm not worried, I have my strong, amazing little brother here to watch my back and save me just like you did before if things ever get bad. My own knight in shining armor."

Her voice grew weaker and within the next few seconds, her eyes closed as soon as he reached her room. Emiya slowly put her on the bed and prepared to walk away until he felt her grab his wrist and looked back to see Najenda staring back at him, a swirl of emotions present in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Had I been a bit stronger back then… you wouldn't have to be on the run like this from her. Best… case scenario, you would have still gotten a position in the upper echelon of the army by inheriting my… title and living a better life." Those words were spoken with a trace of regret laced within them.

'She is still thinking like that, hah.' 

Taking her hand into his, he squeezed it once before placing it back on her chest and then covered her in a blanket and caressed her head a couple of times. "It's not your fault, I made that decision on my own whether you were involved or not. The Empire was already beyond saving and at some point, I would have left regardless. Stop blaming yourself, idiot." 

"…"

With her being fully asleep, Emiya checked the room and was slightly disappointed at the heavy stench of cigars and alcohol filling the space. It was not a mess per se, but there were still a couple of empty bottles laying on her office table and an ashtray that was completely full. "When you wake up, it's going to be to a clean room, and then I'll make sure you keep it that way. The way you manage to enforce such discipline while on the job yet be so slothful in your personal life is astounding." 

When he finally left the room, he froze in his spot when noticing another presence standing dumbly in front of the door and staring at him with widened eyes and a gaping mouth. 

"If you want to talk to Najenda, best wait till tomorrow, Lubbock. She drank too much." Patting the older boy on his shoulder once, Emiya walked away, wanting to get some rest as well.

{Break}

(Next morning)

"What are you doing?" 

He should have known to not expect a peaceful moment right from the get-go. Not even thirty minutes since he woke up and already he found himself staring at a mountain-sized pile of freshly slain Danger Beasts. He'd barely had enough time to tidy up Najenda's quarters.

"Preparing the ingredients that you'll need to make breakfast," Akame answered bluntly with an eager look in her eyes. "This should be enough for today… maybe." 

"Do you seriously want breakfast to just be pure meat and nothing else?" He asked her incredulously. He was aware that the girl had quite an appetite on top of being a voracious carnivore, but this was just too much! "You can't even eat all of this on your own." 

"I won't know unless I try." 

"There is no trying when the amount of meat you say you want to consume is more than ten times your entire mass!" 

She huffed, her eyes as stoic as ever despite the pout she was making with her lips. "Fine, I guess we can share it with the others." 

"You were actually planning on having all of it for yourself!?" He was in complete disbelief, she was worse of a glutton than even a certain King of Knights. Even cooking the entirety of this pile would take him an entire day or two with only a single stove or grill. 

"How about this, you help me cut it all down into pieces and we preserve them for later? I just can't cook all of this and repeat the same process again tomorrow. Because at this rate, you will hunt down every single living creature in this forest within a week. What will you eat then?" 

His suggestion made the girl hesitate, something that should have been a simple matter with logic backing it up seemed to be a major decision for the young girl. 

"You'll get used to it," Leone chuckled, sauntering over to join the conversation. She was still glistening with sweat from her morning workout, her toned figure on full display in her form-fitting clothes. "But really, it's your own damn fault for being such an amazing chef. That last meal you cooked was just ridiculously delicious, Akame nearly spiraled into depression when none of us could recreate it."

Emiya raised an eyebrow. "Surely it wasn't that good."

"Oh, it was," Leone insisted, draping an arm around his shoulders with a grin. "Even Mine teamed up with Tatsumi to try and replicate it, but they failed miserably. I mean, we were all in a pretty shitty mood, so props to them for trying to cheer everyone up. Not that Miss Priss would ever admit to such a thing."

She stretched languidly, her muscles rippling beneath her skin. "But enough about that. Now that you're back, you've gotta spill the beans on your epic showdown with General Frosty Bitch. I heard she can freeze an entire fucking landscape! So how the hell did you manage to keep her from turning everything into a winter wonderland?"

"Believe it or not, you could very well say that Syura ended up saving the entire Capital. He teleported us to a remote tropical far to the south, stopping her from unleashing whatever she had prepared while within the city."

Her eyes widened, "No way… you gotta be kidding me." 

"It's the truth." Emiya shrugged while he chuckled at her reaction. He then proceeded to push a butcher's knife into her grasp and then Akame's. 

"Eh?"

"Wash your hands. You two are going to help me carve these up into nicely sized pieces or long strips, depending on the cut of the meat. I don't want any half-assed hacking, I want fine, clean cuts. Let's get this done before the sun's too high, or we'll be here all day."

"Oh come on, can't we just grab a beer together?" Leone whined.

"Ignoring the fact that we haven't even had breakfast yet, you really want us to go back to the Capital now of all times just to hit up some run-down tavern?"

"…Fair enough." After realizing the consequences of going back to that death trap of a city so soon, the blonde immediately shut up and followed his instructions with the black-haired swordswoman doing the same. "But seriously, we were all worried about you. That woman is infamous across the whole damn continent for how cruel and powerful she is." 

"I managed. She is not a monster that is incapable of seeing reason, just like I said to Najenda. After being teleported so far away our main priority became getting out of there alive rather than killing one another."

"Damn, but you still managed to keep up with her before being forced to work together. That is extremely impressive, handsome! Why don't you show me a couple of your moves when we have a spar together? It will be fun!"

Fighting against someone wearing the Lionel Teigu? That was an interesting idea. That thing enhanced all of her senses and strength, giving her animalistic attributes from what he understood. "I suppose we can do that after we're done here if there's still time. In any case, are they going to be done soon?" said while pointing a thumb at the two boys on the training field doing push-ups with Bulat watching over them and counting as they went. And they'd also added some extra weight to enhance the difficulty… 

"Be more careful! I almost fell over with how much you're shaking like a leaf, you idiot!" Seated atop Tatsumi, the pink-haired markswoman Mine shouted down into his ear as she tried to keep her balance. "My grandma can do better than you! Keep moving, rookie!" 

The brown-haired teen struggled to keep performing the demanding physical task, and her constant verbal barrage didn't make things any easier. This was further aggravated by her constantly slapping his naked back, and had left an angry red palm mark on his skin at this point. On the other side, Lubbock was doing the same, and sitting on top of him was Sheele who was calmly reading a book with her large scissor of a Teigu attached to her back. 

A bit unfair, Emiya had to admit.

"Grh… This is for Miss Najenda, this is for Miss Najenda, this is for Miss Najenda, this is for Miss Najenda, this is for Miss Najenda!" Surprisingly enough, Lubbock did not seem to mind the extra weight and even performed much more fervently than Tatsumi under the added difficulty. His eyes were bloodshot with multiple veins bulging on his shoulders and arms. "I WON'T LOSE HER TO HIM!"

"What's up with him? He seems to be… a bit agitated." Motivated was another word he almost used, but changed at the last second. 

Leone shrugged, "Not sure, I found him in the dining hall biting his fingernails right after I woke up. He was also muttering something to himself about 'it not being true!'. He had bags under his eyes before he suddenly decided to train like a madman. It's almost like he saw a ghost or something last night and wasn't able to get a wink of sleep because of it. Anyway, enough about him, want to try doing pushups like that with me?"

"No. I already agreed to spar with you later, and in case you've forgotten we've got plenty of work to keep ourselves busy as it is. Now get to cutting unless you want to be the one to get rid of all the bones and organs that we can't use, along with any cuts that have gone bad because we spent too much time dilly-dallying."

Akame, who'd been diligently making the cuts, paled at the thought of all this meat going to waste and having to be thrown out, and picked up the pace to an impressive degree. And Leone seemed to get the message that if she was going to do anything that could be called fun today that would involve him, they needed to get this done first. Plus there was the promise of an amazing breakfast to help motivate them. So it was that they continued their work, until Emiya broke the silence.

"You know, if you all like my cooking so much that you are willing to go this far. Why don't I show you how I make some of my dishes?" 

Akame's hands stopped and Leone looked over at him curiously, "I… I don't think I could cook like you do even if I tried," the crimson-eyed assassin admitted.

"I wasn't going to suggest anything complicated. You'd just need to follow the instructions I'd write down and eventually get used to making it," Emiya replied, privately impressed by the knife work from both women. Especially in Leone's case, who was handling the blade like a seasoned expert despite her obvious preference for hand-to-hand combat. "I am sure that in a few hours or by tomorrow, one of you or myself will most likely be heading back to the Capital or one of the surrounding regions for another mission. Either case, it could be days before we see each other again."

Akame looked devastated and even horrified at hearing that notion, her hands shaking ever so slightly which he found funny. For something so stoic, she did a pretty bad job of hiding her emotions, even if her priorities were rather skewed at times. 

"You don't have to think too much about it, it's not like I'm asking you to do the impossible."

"The task is too great." Akame insisted, "I could never match your cooking skills. Anything I tried would be a charred disgrace when compared to the wonders you make when you step into your kingdom." 

"I was pretty sure you could cook prior to my arrival," he pointed out with a skeptical brow raised. 

"It doesn't taste good anymore. I no longer have any interest in my own cooking." 

"…"

He heard Leone click her tongue a couple of times. "Just look at what you did to her, Emiya. You should take responsibility for completely ruining her taste buds."

"I'm starting to believe that all of you are just bad cooks and didn't realize it until now." 

A part of him did feel a familiar amount of pride that was growing by the second at seeing how much the deadly assassin had taken a liking to his cuisine. But perhaps she liked it a bit too much.

"Oi!" Leone yelped in offense.

"Urgh, can all of you please not shout so loudly so early in the morning? My head is killing me." An annoyed and tired voice came from behind, and the three of them turned to see Najenda coming over with an ugly expression whilst massaging her head. She was vested in her usual dark suit and nursing a cup of coffee. "I could hear you all the way from my room." 

"Had a pleasant night's sleep?" He couldn't help but ask sarcastically, knowing she had no one else to blame but herself for her hangover. 

"I thought I was still dreaming when I woke up to find my room sparkling. The strong scent of lemon made me almost throw up." 

"…"

"Don't give me that scary look, I held it in and didn't ruin your hard work. Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about your poor sister suffering from a terrible hangover?" She said, her voice hoarse with dark bags under her eyes. "Nevermind, I have important matters to discuss afterward with the whole team. Be sure to grab Tatsumi as well, there is something he clearly needs to hear." 

Afterward, everybody gathered in the main room inside the base with Najenda about to put a cigar in her mouth, but she hesitated after giving a quick glance to Emiya who looked at her with his arms crossed, and ended up putting it away. 

Emiya leaned against the wall quietly with Tatsumi close by, looking by far the most nervous out of the bunch, for he and most of the others already suspected what the matter Najenda wanted to speak to him about was. 

"So, you have been here for a couple of days now and already accompanied us on a mission — which ended in a mess. I was made aware by Leone yesterday that you have been blaming yourself for how it all went down. Do you?" She asked sharply, her current self being a completely different person to the one she showed last night. 

The boy could not meet her gaze, clenching his fists and looking at the ground. 

"If I hadn't asked to go over there then none of this would have—kah!" His words were cut short, spit flying out of his mouth and his vision blackening for a second when Najenda's mug flew across the room and struck his stomach. "Cough… argh… w-wha… cough!" 

Crumbling to his knees and holding his stomach, he looked upwards wondering why she did that. 

"You don't get it. That mission was not decided by you, nor was your desire to reconnect with your old sergeant the only reason we went there in the first place. Whether you were here or not, we would have gone there and most likely faced the exact same aftermath. If there is anyone to blame then it is myself for planning the mission, so stop being stupid. If not, then next time I'll aim for your face." This was all she said before going back to her seat with Bulat helping the boy get back up. "Alright, now that that is out of the way and I hopefully never have to hear about it again… I got some bad news to give out. We lost contact with most of the locals as of this morning." 

That caught Emiya's attention, as he knew that there was no way that woman would just sit idle after what happened after their last encounter. But her next actions were always unpredictable, it could have been anything from going on a full-on frontal war against the Revolutionary Army, sniffing out all their agents around the Capital, causing a bloodbath by slaughtering entire towns suspected of the slightest signs of collusion with the enemy, to even killing Honest and taking control of the Empire.

He honestly could not predict what she'd do next. One thing would always be certain though: there would be a bloodbath. 

"Locals?" Tatsumi, after recovering from the hit, was confused by that term. 

"Night Raid is charged with assassination of high-risk, high-reward targets, but other groups out there handle other tasks for the Revolutionary Army, such as spying and smuggling. The Capital is just too big for just us to handle everything, which is why you can think of them as different branches for the Revolutionary Army stationed in different regions." Bulat explained calmly, giving more details to the boy who listened carefully.

"From what we gathered, she managed to somehow sniff out many of our informants in the Capital. Fortunately, some of them managed to realize what was coming and ran for the hills. But those that were captured are said to face public execution later today." 

"She is taunting us, when has that psychopath ever gone with public executions instead of torturing and killing everyone?" Mine said, visibly upset by this piece of information. "She is trying to reduce morale and pressure us into acting openly against her." 

But Najenda just shook her head, "No, I personally don't think so."

"I have to agree with Mine on this one, Boss, I don't see any other reason for her to do that. Honest does the same with the local people to instill fear in the population as a whole all the time." 

Rather than immediately answering them, Najenda's eyes went to Emiya and she continued her report. "One of these people captured also happened to be a former scientist who once worked under Stylish." 

The face of an old woman who helped him stabilize Tatsumi's two friends came to mind. His eyes narrowed, wondering just how Esdeath managed to link the dots between the two of them. 

"How…"

"Most likely someone ratted her out," Najenda sighed. A simple explanation, but all too valid, Emiya had to concede. Many in the Capital lived in famine, barely able to stay alive on a day-to-day basis. With Honest promising a handsome reward for people to rat out potential traitors, he supposed it was only a matter of time before someone backstabbed her. "She is not interested in the execution itself at all, nor is she trying to lure us out." 

Leone, carefully listening to the conversation, looked back and forth between them and whispered, "Is this because of what happened back then?"

So that was her goal here… "She's not trying to lure out Night Raid, she's specifically trying to lure out me," Emiya replied for everyone to hear. "Those people are being used as bait." 

Mine scoffed, "Then she is a bigger idiot than I thought. What kind of fool would just fall for such an obvious trap? She's not even trying to hide her intention."

Even Akame had to agree that it was far too obvious of a trap. 

"…"

Najenda's eyes narrowed at him, and he did not like the meaning he saw in them. 

"I am not such a lost cause, Najenda." He said, hating that she suspected he would fall for such a thing. "I don't do things blindly just for the sake of saving strangers."

"…I'll trust you on that for now." Her tone said otherwise, but he just shrugged and let her continue. "One last thing, she has mobilized a group of Teigu users she recently created called the Jaegers, and they consist of all manner of Imperial military personnel ranging from police, navy, scientists, and assassins. I received a report that leads me to believe she's having them perform a raid on a bastion near the Capital that was supposedly under Honest's control, but the men inhabiting it recently turned outlaw. They've apparently been ignoring his orders lately, and tried to establish themselves as an independent force. They even tried to contact the Revolutionary Army." 

He noticed Akame's hold on her sword tighten at the mention of Imperial assassins being part of these Jaegers. 

"She is not participating?" he asked. 

"We don't believe so, she is most likely going to take this opportunity to see how her Jaegers perform in live combat." 

That definitely sounded like her. Esdeath always loved a trial by fire.

Unfortunately, Najenda was not done and the next part left many of them feeling confused. "But there is something odd about her group. Apparently, these 'Jaegers' of Esdeath's no longer consist of just the elite military personnel she selected, but also a group of pardoned criminals who also have Teigus that Syura recruited to act as his personal unit. Seems that with him out of the picture, she's decided to conscript them into her own forces." 

That was… well it was certainly bad, but not as terrible as he'd feared. Esdeath was ruthless, but far more practical and focused than he would ever expect Syura to be. So if the Empire had more Teigu wielders, he'd rather they be under her command than that conniving rapist or his tyrant father.

But was that all there was to it? 

'That can't be it, this is far too tame for her. She is preparing something else, that much I am certain about.' And from the looks of it, he was not the only one with this train of thought as even Najenda looked worried. 

"So, what is our next course of action, Najenda?" 

Rather than answer him, she went over and passed him a letter. "Someone you know requested your presence as a bodyguard until he reaches his destination." 

The letter carried a seal, an old symbol still used by those working under the guidance of the former Prime Minister. The timing of this letter and the news accompanying it made him glare back at Najenda. 

So this was her plan to keep him away.

Najenda met his gaze head on, iron in her eyes and voice. "I know you, Emiya. And unfortunately, so does Esdeath." 

{Break}

-Western Fortress-

"So this is the place." 

Wave noted while standing on top of a hill and holding a spyglass as he observed the heavily guarded fortress in the distance. 

A fortress was overtaken by a bunch of bandits who were rumored to be in alliance with the Revolutionary Army given how well-armed they were. A bunch of bloodthirsty criminals as far as Wave knew, people who would expand and take over more territory if not stopped early. 

"A total of two hundred and thirty bandits that originated from the northern region. They reportedly fled from their old base after General Esdeath was rumored to pass through that area." 

One of the members of the Jaegers, a blond man named Run, informed them about everything they already knew about this group of bandits. 

He along with the rest of the group had been sent here on a task to eliminate this threat, this being their first ever mission together. To be honest, it was about time since just recently the Capital suffered an attack which most of them were unable to help with at all. 

The moment he reached the site of the chaos with Kurome, there was nothing left but frozen rubble and their leader, who had a freighting expression on her face that even scared the stoic little swordswoman behind him. 

"No records of any Teigu users amongst them, this should proceed fairly well if none of us mess up. I trust you all memorized the layout of the fortress?" 

"You don't have to worry about that," Wave answered with a large grin on his face. "I spent all night reviewing the intel, and I've memorized the place so well I could navigate it with my eyes closed!" 

Despite hoping to get a few chuckles and words of praise from the group, they all just remained silent which made it very awkward for him. "Y-Yeah, it wasn't too hard…" 

His prior confidence shattered, thankfully not all of them ignored him. Bolz, out of everyone present, started clapping with genuine praise showcased in his actions. "…You can stop now… please."

It just made things even more embarrassing! 

"So… how should we proceed?" He asked the rest, looking around at the members. "Dr. Stylish is absent and General Esdeath still hasn't arrived." 

Ever since the attack, Dr. Stylish just went missing. The only answer they got from Esdeath this morning was him going through some light punishment for disobeying orders. Since he was a very useful and competent member of the group, she did not immediately kick him out. 

"…" 

Seryu, who he expected to be excited about this mission, had not mentioned a word since this morning. Something obviously happened back there, but she had not said a word about it. 'She looks down, maybe I can ask Kurome and Bolz to try to find a way to cheer her up.' 

For such an energetic and cheerful person to become like this did not sit well with him. It added to his regret of not reaching the area sooner and helping the girl against Night Raid's assassins.

"Hm?" 

As he was in the middle of his thoughts, the sound of leaves rustling reached his ears. From where they were positioned, nearby was a small grove of trees from which emerged the shadow of a person. 

"A child?" Wave muttered in astonishment as he saw the emerging figure. 

A blonde-haired girl who looked like she was in her preteen years. "Uuu—uuuua!" She looked lost, crying with tears streaming down her face and wearing a dark turquoise colored dress. Her eyes landed on his and immediately showed a relieved smile. "I-I'm saved!" 

She rushed forward before Wave even knew it, he found hands wrapping around him and experiencing a tight hug from the stranger. Putting two and two together, he started to wonder if she was a survivor of one of the bandits' recent raids. "You, where are your parents?"

"My parents?" At first, she was confused and then the next second more tears started to leak from her face which made the man start to panic. "T-They… they… M-Mama! Papa are both…" Her hands trembled as she pointed at the fortress in the distance, his fears coming through and the rage within him growing at the realization that he had once again been too late to help the innocent people from suffering. 

Wanting to calm the young girl, he returned the hug and slowly caressed her head hoping it would help her in any way. "Don't worry, we're here now. I promise we will get revenge for your parents and take care of you." He spoke with conviction, barely able to hold himself back from just storming into the fortress and killing all of these criminals. 

"—!" 

Goosebumps suddenly spread across his back and in the next moment, the young girl jumped away right as a sword appeared out of nowhere and slashed where her neck had just been. 

"Kurome!?" Wave could not believe his eyes as his teammate was the one responsible for the attack. "Have you lost your mind!? How could you try to harm a child!?"

"Shut up," Kurome hissed, pointing the sword at the blonde girl who jumped away with a murderous intention in her eyes. "That is not a child. She was trying to kill you, idiot. Look at her hands!"

Unconsciously following her words, he was shocked to find that the blonde girl was holding a dagger in her grasp. And the prior vulnerable expression on her face had been replaced by an amused smirk. 

"W-What…?" 

"Tch, No need to be so hostile towards me. I was just testing out my new comrades. Just a prank if you want to look at it like that~!" 

Even her voice changed, no longer as timid and high-pitched as before and instead having turned slightly mature and cold even. Wave did not waste time by grabbing his sword and taking on a defensive stance. "Assassins! You won't escape this time!" 

Before Wave could react, several shadowy figures emerged from the forest, their very presence sending a chill down his spine.

"You had your fun, Dorothea. Let's just get along well with our new team and build a solid bond with our new friends!" a woman closer to his age was the first one to show her face, wearing dazzling and revealing clothes that belonged to a dancer instead of a fighter. Pink hair and pink eyes all add to her natural beauty. "Wow~! There are a few cuties amongst them!" 

Her eyes especially went to gaze at Run, The latter who kept a smiling face. 

"Wait, team?" Wave wondered if he heard correctly and then saw the other people who arrived. 

"Nice to meet you all," The second one to speak was a clown of all things. Obese just like the prime minister and covered in makeup which made it impossible to discern any of his less obvious physical traits. "My name is Champ, I am one of the members of Wild Hunt, a new secret police unit under the command of Syura." 

Behind Wave, Run's prior expression broke for a split second. Disbelief, rage, and disgust, with countless other negative emotions, flashed through his eyes the moment he saw the clown step out from the shadows and casually introduce himself. His fists were clenched behind his back hard enough to draw blood while his expression returned to normal soon after, the intense emotions having gone completely unnoticed by most. 

The clown meanwhile, gestured toward the pink-haired girl and the blonde respectively. "This is Cosmina, along with Dorothea, who you met first. They are two of my teammates in Wild Hunt, please treat us kindly." 

"Hey fatass, what the hell did you mean by that? I don't remember ever agreeing to join these stuck-up losers. Frankly I'm still wondering why we even bothered coming out here to begin with." Two more individuals arrived, the one who spoke being a lean, yet well-muscled man with black hair styled in a triangular bob-like cut and small, light-colored eyes followed by the last person who had the appearance of a vagrant ronin from the south.

Wave found that man's face familiar, but couldn't remember where he might have seen it before.

Suffice it to say though, this guy did not seem to be in a good mood at all. 

"Koro! Number Three!" Seryu on the other hand had a much more visceral reaction than her comrades. One filled with rage the moment she saw these new arrivals, for the young soldier recognized nearly all of their faces from wanted posters as some of the most heinous criminals in the Empire. "Vile evildoers! I'll kill all of you in the name of justice!" 

"Enough!" 

Woosh! 

Ice spurted from the ground and stopped Koro from biting Seryu's arm and also freezing the girl in place. "Seryu, these are no longer criminals. They have all been pardoned for their past crimes by the Prime Minister. They are now part of the Imperial military and are to be recognized as fellow servants of the Empire, so you will not attack them again unless I give the order." An authoritative voice attracted everyone's attention to the top of the hill where Esdeath stood all by herself. Wave was shocked to see the General here, as he had not even sensed her presence at all. 

"Jaegers, I present to you the former Wild Hunt. They are a small group of Teigu wielders who were recruited by and under the command of the Prime Minister's son. But with Syura now either dead or captured, they will instead be integrated into the Jaegers and also participate in my Beast selection test." 

She said it's so casual as if it were a minor thing, but for the young man, this was a lot to take in. But if Esdeath saw his shock, she showed no sign of it and continued. "Today's raid will serve as a test for all of you. It will be the first one amongst many which I will be watching closely, so be sure to take it seriously. Unfortunately Dr. Stylish will not be participating today… He is currently recovering after he disobeyed my orders."

Wave shivered at the last part, her voice had turned extremely cold to the point he felt he had a blade pressed against his jugular. But the sensation only lasted for a brief moment before it disappeared completely. 

Even if she was smiling, he had a feeling she was not exactly in a good mood. 

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are ordering us around, ice cunt?" One of the Wild Hunt members was obviously not pleased with whatever was going on here. The man with the bob cut walked forward. "Just because Syura has been gone for a couple of days does not mean he is dead, much less that Wild Hunt is disbanding just to join your little gang of cocksuckers."

Finally, the man's face clicked into place for Wave. 'Wait… he's that pirate! Enshin, the Moonlit Scourge!' 

As a former member of the navy operating in the eastern seas, Wave had on numerous occasions seen the wanted posters of this man while in port. A pirate known to pillage and rape countless women for many years, only to disappear recently to the confusion and worry of many. 

Cosmina, who had been smiling the entire time, started to frown slightly in worry before walking over to pull him back. "Hey, Enshin, I don't think you should…"

"Shut the hell up, you slut!" Only to be mercilessly smacked to the ground by him. "Just because there is a guy here you want to fuck does not mean you can just switch teams! And you!" He then pointed his finger at Esdeath, the latter not saying a thing and letting him continue. 

"I don't take orders from some frigid bitch who had to suck off a fatass like Honest under the table to get the title of General. You do have a pretty face and a nice set of tits, so I can see why he is so tolerant of you. But just because I'd also be happy to see you swallow my cock doesn't mean I'll put up with your bullshit. Until Syura comes back, the one who will be in charge of Wild Hunt is me. I am the second in command after all." 

"…"

"Now, I suggest you keep your mouth shut like a good northern whore unless you want me to start making you moan my name like the worthless sow you are."

Wave was completely speechless. He along with the rest of the Jaegers all stared at the man in dumbfounded bewilderment, wondering if he had a death wish. Wave however forced himself to snap out of it. He could not just let a pirate of all people suddenly start to badmouth their leader. 

"Hey you jackass, shut the hell up before I—eh?" He was held back by Kurome who shook her head at what he was about to do. 

It was hard to get a read on Esdeath even at the best of times. Wave could not tell whether she was furious or impassive at hearing such words be directed at her for what may well be the first time in her life. But much to his surprise, the woman just chuckled. Her reaction somehow made Kurome pull him even further away, with the rest of the Jaegers either doing the same or shaking their heads in resignation. 

"You know… you remind me of Syura a lot." Esdeath spoke, her response making Enshin smirk widely. "From the reports you even have an interesting Teigu. Shamshir if I recall correctly."

"Hmph, so you want a challenge or something to see who is better?" His hands blurred and the next moment he was holding two sabers. "I'm ready whenever you are. I don't need the full moon to take a stupid bitch like you on, but if you want a different kind of battle then I'm sure we can find some privacy in the forest. I'd be happy to spare some of my time if it means showing you your place. Either way, it's gonna end with me fucking you in every worthless hole you've got. Been a good while since I was last able to have some high-ranking military slut take my cock." His tongue flickered as he said those words, each phrase making the smile on Esdeath's face grow wider while her eyes grew sharper. 

"Shamshir?" Wave had heard of this Teigu… Moonlight Sword Dance: Shamshir. A weapon capable of shooting aerial blades at opponents, which were able to slice clean through targets who were all the way on the other side of a battlefield. Its power, however, was dependent on the lunar cycle, with it being at its strongest during a full moon.

Regardless, that weapon was now pointed at his leader's face. 

"What, afraid you might break your nails when you actually have to fight?" He taunted her further, yet the next second Wave felt his heart nearly stop. 

It happened in an instant, faster than he could even perceive. One moment Enshin stood proudly in cocky defiance and the next, his body got mercilessly impaled by what first looked like several icicles. But upon closer inspection Wave saw they were actually shaped like weapons, weirdly enough. 

Regardless, the frozen projectiles pierced the pirate's body in all four limbs with another two in his torso. Yet despite this, no blood spurted from the piercing wounds, as the weapons were in fact so cold all the blood surrounding them crystallized on contact. 

"A-Aaaaaa—hng!" 

The man attempted to scream from the pain, only for his jaw to be grasped tightly by Esdeath, with a thin layer of ice spreading over the man's skin from where she gripped him. The only time Wave or anyone else saw blood being spilled was when some started to seep out from Enshin's eyes as they bulged in agonized shock. 

During all this, the most that Enshin could do was struggle to take a breath, but even his windpipes had been frozen solid as the cold spread across his face and down his neck. 

"You remind me so much of Syura that I just can't take it. Blatant insubordination along with pathetically empty threats are both answered with swift expulsion from the Jaegers. Unfortunately for you, this operation is covert and highly confidential, only to be known by myself and the rest of the Jaegers. Any witnessing civilians or outsiders not part of it are to be killed immediately to contain the spread of information." 

With a swift and violent pull, Wave and everyone else saw the woman easily rip out Enshin's entire lower jaw, with the piece of bone in her grip with bits of blood and flesh and also the tongue still attached. Yet not a drop of blood was spilled from the gory mess, having been frozen inside of Enshin's veins.

His body was left to fall to the ground like a discarded doll, cracks forming along the skin that had been covered by Esdeath's ice when she held him by his jaw. 

Still holding onto the frozen chunk of bone, Esdeath looked at the rest of Wild Hunt's members who had long since lost their cool and were now staring with open fear at the blue-haired woman.

"So, does anyone else have a problem with being put under my command?"

-------------

The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.