#138 Damsel in Distress

"...Good to see you again, please take a seat" Akashi said after a short awkward silence while pointing at the chair opposite to him.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me at this hour. Truth be told, I already expected you to be asleep so my hopes were really small." Poney replied while forcing smile out of herself.

"I had a lot of work to do and I am not sleepy anyway. What is going on?" Akashi shook his head before he asked with a worried expression while looking at Poney.

"...Have you heard of the commotion that happened tonight?" She asked with a depressed tone.

"Yeah, a few assassins ran away from the Capital together with Teigu in their hands." Akashi replied with a natural tone, not trying sound surprised neither he tried to sound too knowledgeable about the situation.

"...It was Akame and Green. The moment when I heard the news, I immediately went after them, however, when I caught up with the group that was responsible for catching them, I found a father and Tsukushi together with them, well...only their corpses with black markings on them." Poney said while looking down and folding her hands between her thighs. Tears started to well up in her eyes once again.

"..." Akashi gave her time to catch a breath before she continued.

"I-I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what is happening, 2 of my closest people to me died while another 2 ran away and the chief is still somewhere outside on the mission to find Cornelia. I had no energy to do anything not to mention chasing after Akame and Green. I just wanted to grieve for a while however, I wasn't even allowed to do that, one of the officers of that group put a gun to my head and asked me if I will go look for Akame and Green or not." Poney said and tears finally slowly rolled down her cheeks.

'Seeing this side of hers is really different feeling. She always struck me as a cheerful and airheaded girl which definitely suited her. *sigh*' Akashi thought before he released a short sigh.

"Seeing that you are here...it's safe to assume that you are already branded as a traitor, right?" Akashi asked with a serious expression.

'Let's see what's her answer and maybe I should also cheer her up so she can speak without pausing after each word.' Akashi thought while awaiting her answer.

"...Y-Yes, it's safe to assume that..." Poney looked down at her legs, not daring to even look at Akashi.

'That serious expression...I am gone, what was I even thinking? Akashi doesn't know me well enough to stick out his neck for me.' Poney thought while biting her lower lip.

*Thud* "Ouch!" Poney felt a small pain from the middle of her forehead so he raised her head while protecting her forehead with her hands.

"Thanks for being honest with me." Akashi who flicked her forehead while leaning forward said with a smile.

"Huh?" Poney continued rubbing her forehead while looking at Akashi with a dumbfounded expression.

"Don't 'Huh' me! Tell me, what do you need from me? I might be able to help you." Akashi said while leaning back against his chair.

"I-I don't know what to say...Thank you! However, I don't know what I want or what I should do...he-he" Poney said and when she noticed Akashi's expression, she released an awkward laugh while scratching back of her head.

Akashi facepalmed himself.

'This is the old Poney I know...' Akashi thought while looking at Poney like on the idiot.

"You actually risked getting sold out by me to the Empire just to talk to me? What about Akame and Green? Don't you want to find them? Don't you want revenge? What is it that you truly want? I won't be able to help you without knowing that first..." Akashi said with his arms folded.

"I-...I have no idea, this is simply too much for me to absorb. In just a few hours with my absence and apparently Akame killed her best friend and father...what is this development?" Poney asked while leaning forward, putting her face close to Akashi as if she was trying to find answers on his face.

"Akame and Green simply chose their own way. I get it that Gozuki taught you everything but once you grow up to have enough of common sense, you should also start questioning the teachings of the person who was taking care of you. You shouldn't walk the path someone taught you to or show you, you should discover your own path and make sure that it is what you truly want." Akashi said, slightly implying that Gozuki wasn't exactly what he pretended to be.

"...Do you mean to say that they were no longer content with the father's teachings? Why? I know Akame very well and she wouldn't abandon the path that helps people." Poney muttered with a thoughtful expression.

"Maybe the path you see isn't exactly what it appears to be. It is easy to deceive eyes and ears, however, if you will have at least some doubts within your heart, you will one day see holes even in the perfect disguise. I won't beat around the bush anymore and will be blunt instead...The Empire is making its people suffer instead of making them happy. You should be aware that I have access to better information than you who is just a simple assassin, a tool for the Empire to take care of those who try to help people by fighting against the Empire." Akashi said with his eyes closed and completely calm expression.

'...I can't detect any lies in his words...No way." Poney was quite shocked by Akashi's words.

"Then what are you if I am just a tool?" Poney asked after few seconds of silence with a confused expression. She was quite confused because she had no idea why was he telling her all of this despite being someone quite high in power.

"In their eyes, I am the same as you, a tool with a higher value because I can keep some people in check. One person in power can't control everyone, he also needs to have other people to take care of some side matters. It's completely the same with the army when you are general, you also need to have your subordinates, Captains who watch over your disposable foot soldiers." Akashi grinned when he heard her question and replied to it very quickly.

"...So you are saying that you know that you are just a tool and that you are helping them despite knowing what they are doing is bad?" Poney was quite surprised when Akashi admitted that he is just a tool in their eyes with a wide grin on his face.

"Hold up, when did you assume that I am a good guy that wants to stick his own neck to stop them doing 'bad' things?" Akashi asked with a fake confused expression.

"..." Poney expression suddenly became serious as she stared at Akashi in silence as if it was obvious.

"Jeez, just because I didn't sell you out yet doesn't mean that I am a good guy. Who knows...maybe I am just interested in you so I want to have leverage over you. But if we are being realistic and serious here...I just have my own way of doing things." Akashi said with a laid back smile while shrugging his shoulders.

Upon hearing this, Poney became more cautious of Akashi but there was still a small blush on her cheeks, combined with her puffy eyes, she was currently making a quite cute expression with a vulnerable vibe around her.

"Don't look at me that way...I was just joking." Akashi said.

"Yeah, I know, thanks for trying to cheer me up. You are the first person who actually tried to cheer me up instead of shooting me in the head." Poney said and released a small smile while she stopped staring at Akashi so intensively.

"You are welcome, Poney! Anyway, enough of joking around. What do you want to do? Do you want to find Akame and Green? Or will you try to find Najasho?" Akashi replied with a big smile before he turned serious and asked her about her plans.

'If Najasho succeeds in rescuing Cornelia, she will most likely go after Akame. From what I have seen after spending with them a few days is that she is the most attached to Gozuki or was...' Akashi thought about the entire situation and its pros and cons.

"I am in a very delicate situation here. I still have yet to absorb what happened tonight not to mention your words but I still believe you, I don't see any reason why would you try to lie to me...I am not sure if I would be able to face Akame and Green, they would have reminded me of Tsukushi and father. If I will go try to find the chief, I will only put him in the danger since I am practically a deserter right now." Poney said with a serious expression and Akashi nodded his head since even he thought that her situation was very tough. She was in the middle of everything with no good way out.

"So...If you are still interested in me, how about keeping me here for a while~?" Her mood suddenly took 180 degrees turn as she asked while sticking out her tongue and winking at Akashi, trying to look cute.

"...Please don't do that ever again" Akashi looked strangely at her act before he honestly replied and Poney puffed out her cheeks in response while glaring at him.

"...I can't let you stay here. Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with hiding you here but I can't keep you around me..." Akashi replied with a serious tone.

At first, Poney was dejected after hearing his answer but when she heard the reason, she had an

urge to tease him but she stopped herself when she noticed Akashi's serious face.

"W-Why?" She asked with a completely confused expression.

"I am very similar to Akame and Green. Truth be told, we shouldn't even act as friends like what we are doing right now." Akashi replied while maintaining strong eye contact with her.

Poney was quite scared by how serious Akashi was and when she heard his words, her mind worked on 100% but she still couldn't find the similarity between Akashi and her friends that deserted tonight.

'I don't see any problem telling her about Gai since she is branded as deserter right now and nobody would even believe her words. Not to mention, their group is now disbanded with Gozuki's death and most of its members dead or missing. Nobody would care about the disbanded group anymore, at least the Empire wouldn't. Even if they did, it would still be word against the word.' Akashi thought and decided to inform her about his play in Gai's death