#150 First encounter

---1 Day later, at the evening---

Akashi was sitting at the table in his study with furrowed brows and a serious look in his eyes.

*Creek* "Hm? What's with that expression? What happened?" Poney who just walked in while drying her long loose hair with towel asked with a confused expression. She also came in with snacks that she put down on Akashi's table before jumping back on his sofa or more like her sofa by now.

"...Bringing snacks won't make it easier for you to laze around me. Anyway, another guy fell victim to Aria's sweet-talking." Akashi said with narrowed eyes, thinking hard about something.

"Hm? Then why are you behaving like that? Haven't you expected this to happen already?" Poney asked with a smile, happy to redirect their conversation away from her laziness.

"I wasn't really expecting it to happen...It was more of a fun rather than a true assumption." Akashi raised his head and looked at Poney with a slightly troubled look.

"That doesn't matter now, does it? Tell me, what do you "assume" that will happen with their friend?" Poney said while shrugging her shoulders before she asked with a curious look.

Akashi who just heard her words, couldn't help but smile.

"I guess it doesn't matter as for what I would "assume" to happen...Either Aria will put him together with his friends or she might play with him a bit more, it all depends if she will discover that he is looking for his friends and those friends are the ones who are being tortured by her. Either way, we will discover that after Ichika report back to us." Akashi said while supporting her head with one hand resting on the table. He was quite amused by this twist of events.

'Everything that's missing is Night Raid's presence and Taeko stepping in to stop this marriage between me and Aria, haha' Akashi thought with an amused smile but he was aware that Night Raid might appear since they were targeting people based on the severeness of their crimes.

He was sure that Aria's family was bound to become their target one day.

'I will contact Seryuu tomorrow afternoon and have a talk with her about her help. We will see if she can organize a small patrolling party but it looks like her superior favors her so there shouldn't be any problem with that.' Akashi thought with his eyes closed.

---1 Day later---

Unexpectedly, Aria decided to use Tatsumi as her pet for a bit even though he had no idea about it. Most likely it was the feeling of having him around all happy while also having his friends he is looking for so close to him. Her entire family was twisted and they weren't mentally ill in a way that they liked torturing people, no, they liked torturing innocent people specifically who have never done anything against them which was one thing that completely disgusted Akashi.

He had no problems with torture as long as there is some kind of reason behind it.

.

.

"Come on, Tatsumi! You need to help me with the preparation for my wedding!" Aria shouted at a young man of average height with green eyes and medium-length brown hair.

"Y-Yes, I am coming!" Tatsumi replied with a look of helplessness in his face while chasing after Aria who kept running from one shop to another.

All the time they were outside, shopping, there was constantly someone following them without them even being aware of that. Most people weren't even paying any attention to beggars therefore they were best for this tailing and information gathering.

---Inside Akashi's study, at night---

"Young lord, they are still alive but I am afraid that they won't live for too long in case we don't stop them from getting tortured for some time so they can recover some strength. They are also getting slightly suspicious, both sides that is. I always treated them while they were unconscious and until now they kept thinking that it was their enemies who treated them but I am afraid it won't take too long until they lose it and plead them to stop treating their wounds..." Ichika reported to Akashi while standing in front of his desk. She was currently having a serious expression and bits of disgust were still present in her eyes. Despite being experienced and all, she was still disgusted when she saw insides of Aria's family's warehouse behind their mansion.

"Well, there is no longer a need to wait since I have no idea when they will add that Tatsumi to his friends. I hope he won't stand in our way before we show him his friends. You have done a splendid job, thank you, Ichika" Akashi said and stood up from his seat, making Poney who was lazying around stand up in attention too.

"Can I go with you, young long?" Ichika asked with a pleading smile.

"No." Akashi bluntly replied.

"Huh?" Ichika was slightly surprised how quickly he shut her request down.

"You should go rest, there is no need to see more of those disgusting things than necessary." Akashi said and despite Ichika wanting to join in, she accepted his decision in the end.

"You can come with me but once the Imperial Police appears, I want you to disappear. Even though you will be wearing that mask, there is no need to take any unnecessary risks." Akashi said while looking at Poney but he didn't even wait for her answer before grabbing his black military coat and sword and then he simply walked out of his study.

"W-Wait for me!" Poney shouted while grabbing the clothes to wear over her current ones and mask before she sprinted out of the room, chasing after Akashi.

On the way outside, Akashi met Kurome so he asked her if she wants to join in since it would be awkward not to ask her after running into her. He didn't really want her to see unnecessary things but it was her choice since she was already responsible for herself and her decisions. Of course, she immediately agreed...

When they arrived near their mansion...

'Hm? A bloodlust?' Akashi frowned and stopped while stopping both Kurome and Poney with his hands.

"What is it?" Kurome asked with a confused expression while looking around, trying to find anything suspicious. Poney was visibly confused by Akashi's actions too.

"I can feel someone's bloodlust but this definitely isn't from any of their guards. This is from someone much experienced who has killed numerous people..." Akashi explained while slowly and cautiously approaching the mansion.

"...Akashi Nii-sama, do you think that..." Kurome suddenly frowned and asked with an uncomfortable expression.

"You can also feel her bloodlust? I don't know to what extent is their goal but I need to leave 1 of them alive but I definitely don't want that person to be Aria. Tch, they really know how to show up at an inconvenient time." Akashi turned at Kurome before looking ahead with narrowed eyes.

"You two, go to that warehouse behind the mansion and wait for me there, hide inside the trees." Akashi instructed before stealthily yet quickly running towards the mansion.

Poney and Kurome didn't even get a chance to reply so Poney just shrugged it off as something usual but Kurome couldn't help but look towards the mansion's entrance with an uncomfortable expression. Still, they quickly moved behind the warehouse where they found quite a good hiding spot, waiting for Akashi.

'Hm? There!' Akashi thought when he saw a blonde woman very similar to Aria in her appearance in the window walking through the hallway.

.

.

"Fufu, maybe I will make diary entry today as well..." The said woman was Aria's mother who was completely the same as her twisted daughter maybe with a difference that her age made her look more mature and kind. She was currently blushing a bit while thinking about writing down to her diary about today's torture which only indicated how insane she was.

Suddenly when she was about to cut in half by large scissors from behind without being even aware of it...

*Clang* A loud sound of weapons clashing against each other resounded in the hallway which made her abruptly turn around with a startled expression.

She saw a young purple-haired woman holding large scissors standing with a surprised expression while looking at the person right in front of her. She deduced that the person right in front of her must-have saved her but she couldn't say anything since all her words got stuck in her mouth.

Akashi turned at Aria's mother and the moonlight illuminated his face with a cold expression enough for her to recognize him.

"?! Akas-" Before she was able to mutter his name, she was knocked out by him, by getting punched right between her breasts into solar plexus.

"Don't even utter my name from that filthy mouth of yours, you are not worthy." Akashi said while recalling his "date" with this woman's daughter.

"Um, I am sorry but I need to kill that woman." The purple-haired woman suddenly said while pointing her scissors at Aria's mother after she recovered from the shock of having her attack deflected.

The only reason she didn't attack Akashi yet was that he wasn't their target and even though he protected her target, he didn't look or sound like her guard.

"Hm? Sorry, I can't have you do that, I have better plans for this woman. Killing her would have been a waste" Akashi turned at her and replied with a small smile.

'*sigh* Then I guess I have no other choice here...' A slightly regretful expression appeared on her face before she struck her scissors forward, aiming at Akashi's shoulder where Aria's mother was lying.

"I appreciate the thought but as an assassin, you should aim for me first instead of my hostage" Akashi said and instead of deflecting the scissors with his sword once again, he struck it with his palm at the perfect time, making it completely miss his hostage's head but that wasn't all. Before the woman in front of him was able to make another move, he used his sturdy boots to stomp her scissors down, burying into the floor.

He didn't use his sword since he felt what kind of pressure those scissors generated on his sword when he deflected them for the first time so he didn't risk going against that weapon only with his strength alone and used "gentle" approach.

'Good thing that I reinforced bottom of my boots with Danger Beast's materials but I shouldn't keep standing on it unless I want her to cut my foot.' Akashi thought and immediately jumped away while the woman who was already frowning and definitely preparing some special move once again regained her calm expression.

'Who is he? Only after 1 exchange, he was able to see through my Extase's strong point, still...This is the first time anyone used this type of interesting approach to render my Extase useless. I was already prepared to use it's Trump Card to quickly end it but looks like I won't get that chance...' Sheele thought while she was calmly observing Akashi since she had a lot of time on her hand and she had her allies outside who could come and help her very soon.

"Well, I have got what I came here for, see ya!" Akashi suddenly broke off his defensive stance and waved at her before he started running away.

"?! Wait!" She was surprised by this twist of events but she still reacted quickly and started running after him while being cautious of any possible surprise attack.

Akashi suddenly pointed his hand behind him and the blocked the way behind him with his flames.

"What?!" Sheele exclaimed when she was suddenly blocked by the wall of flames. She thought of jumping through it but she quickly discarded that idea when she felt the temperature of those flames, instead, she tried to cut through them but every time she made a small gap, the flames regenerated back, blocking her way once again.

'In that case!' Sheele looked to the side at the window and jumped through it.

'He must have left that hallway already' Shelee thought once she was looking from outside to the windows and couldn't see anything strange. She didn't waste any time and entered the mansion once again to find Akashi's tracks.

While Akashi who hasn't even moved an inch when he created that wall of flames walked through it at the opposite side while crouching down, hiding from outside's view.

'That woman's critical thinking was quite good and quick but she will never expect me not trying to run away and she even has a valid reason to think so.' Akashi thought with a small smile.