Turning the tables

"This is it!" Taeko slashed her katana at Zero's neck whose lips curled up at the same moment.

"Just kidding" Zero stuck out his bit tongue and ducked at the last moment and drove his knee into Taeko's stomach.

"Wha-? Gah!"

He slashed the pillar behind him and kicked off Taeko's back, jumping out of the ruined house that started falling down once the pillar crumbled.

There were several flashes of light when the rubble started falling down on Taeko, creating quite a big smoke of dust.

"Haah, haah" Taeko was taking deep breathes while looking around in anticipation of Zero's attack. She suddenly slashed her katana to her right and deflected one dagger.

'I need to stabilize my breathing, he is far more skilled than I assumed but it's still doable as long as I will look out for any of his tricks.' Taeko thought before she heard Zero's shout behind her.

"AAAH!"

Zero entered the smoke, flying straight at her with his sword overhead.

'Is he thinking of overpowering me with the momentum of his fall? My movements are becoming more sluggish, I have to take care of him quickly.' Taeko thought and once Zero swung his sword down, Taeko was ready to parry it, however when their swords almost met, Zero did the unthinkable. He let go of his sword which caused it to fly a long distance away but it also caused Taeko to be fully open.

Zero grabbed his dagger and aimed to cut her throat.

'I won't lose!' Taeko gritted her teeth and somehow still managed to pull her katana back in time to block Zero's dagger. Zero didn't wait for her to recover and spit a small needle at her.

"Tch!" 'He is using my own moves against me. He isn't even that strong yet dealing with him is so troublesome while I am injured like this. ?!' Despite being very close, Taeko managed to dodge the needle but she had to block Zero's next kick with her arms.

The power of his kick also surprised her since it caused her to slide a few meters back.

"HAAA!"

"?! Cornelia?!" Taeko abruptly turned her head to look behind her but it was already too late for her when Cornelia's gauntlet connected with Taeko's lower back.

"bleugh!" Taeko was sent flying while vomiting a lot of blood.

Cornelia's punch even cleared all the smoke in the vicinity.

"Haah, don't even try it. My weapon hit you twice already, your organs must be in a mess" Cornelia took a deep breath before saying to Taeko who was trying to get up from her knees.

"Cora, Zero?!" The moment they heard their names called out, both looked back just to see Akame running to them with a confused expression that quickly changed to horrified once she noticed their injuries

'Are you for real? What timing is this?' Zero didn't even feel like replying to her.

"Akame, calm down, it's...already ove-" Cornelia didn't even finish her sentence before she fell onto Zero who was standing next to her and awkwardly caught her, not sure what to do with her.

"Cora?!" Akame started panicking a bit.

"She was poisoned but I assume she passed out from exhaustion. Maybe seeing you made her pass out in peace, knowing that she will be in safe hands." Only after Zero's explanation, Akame regained her cool and finally started paying attention to Taeko who was still on her knees coughing out blood.

"...If only we could have met under the different circumstances. *cough!*" Taeko said in a low voice while looking up at Akame and Zero who was carrying Cornelia for now.

"Heh, this is the reason why I detest this world" Once Taeko's tough shell crumbled, Zero could see that she really just wanted a friend like any normal girl.

His words made both Akame and Taeko look at him with confused expressions.

"Excuse me, I am just speaking nonsense. I should go take Cornelia back so the others can take a look at her injuries. I am leaving the rest to you, Akame" Zero said and wanted to leave.

"Please wait for me outside" Akame said and Zero nodded his head.

"W-wait" Taeko suddenly called out which prompted Zero to stop.

"What is it? She can't exactly say farewell to you right now."

"No...I want you to be the one to finish me off"

"...Why? Ain't I weak, why would you want to be killed by someone like me?" Zero was puzzled by Taeko's request.

"*Cough* You aren't weak, despite crossing swords with you, I wasn't able to gauge the full capacity of your abilities. Maybe if I weren't injured and exhausted, you wouldn't stand a chance but it felt like you were in control the en-"

"Alright! If that's your final wish, I will fulfill it. I hope you can find peace." Zero interrupted her since he didn't want Akame to hear more than necessary.

Seeing how Taeko closed her eyes, Zero pierced her heart with his dagger while carrying Cornelia.

.

.

'...How pitiful. I just hope I made the right decision.' Zero thought while taking the last look back at the burning corpse before following after Akame.

In Zero's eyes, his tactic of laying low might no longer be efficient even if he were to somehow convince the others that he is just a bit stronger Imperial guard.

'This fight has shown me that I need to become stronger, much stronger...and I won't be able to achieve it by being at Imperial guards, their training isn't harsh and good enough for me to grow stronger. Maybe I did well by showing off in front of Cornelia, killing competent people is never profitable. I have no idea what Gozuki had planned for me if I were to stay low, relying solely on his words would make me a fool.'

Akame told Zero to take Cornelia back to the mountains while she would go notify the others in the inn. The way Akame entrusted her friend to him definitely surprised Zero, still, he was reluctant to risk going there when that granny most likely went there, however, the moment he exited the city, he noticed Gozuki running to him.

Gozuki informed him that he took care of one assassin in the mountains and they should regroup there. Saying he would ask for details later, during that brief moment, Zero could swear that he saw some hidden emotions in Gozuki's eyes the moment he looked at injured and unconscious Cornelia.