23.To....KILL!

[[23.To...KILL!]]

[[Kurome's POV]]

~

My day was finally going well, suspiciously enough. Today was one of those rare "off"-days, but in reality, instead of it being a day for possible relaxation, it was a day where we are just forced to train some more. If we were seen wasting any opportunity to grow stronger, death would be immediate.

So, here I am, training with Yatsufusa, making sure to improve my skills. But, to be honest, this was more relaxing than it was tiring. It helped me think clearly, to forget about how my friend was now a puppet of mine, of how he was here, still with me, but still isn't.

Then, shaking away my thoughts, I went back to being calm, glad that the drugs in my system weren't acting up. Sometimes, because of the drugs, I would suddenly feel pain course through my whole body, but I experienced it so many times I didn't get surprised by it anymore, didn't hurt any less though.

But, while here, I suddenly thought about my sister. She, who was the older one, the stronger one, had been part of a different team to assassinate the former General Najenda yesterday, who had defected from the Empire and had been said to have joined the Revolutionary Army a few days ago. She had been severely injured by General Esdeath, with her right arm and right eye having been taken by General Esdeath. Onee-sama and her team had been sent to infiltrate one of the Revolutionary Army's camps, where it was believed to be where they had former General Najenda in, and kill her while still recuperating. But onee-sama was strong, even without her teammates, and is stronger with her current Shingu -weapons made that were supposed to surpass the Teigus, but was still inferior-, so infiltrating the camp would be easy for onee-sama.

Still, I was a bit worried for her, but worrying would make me weak, feeling emotions makes me weak, and when I'm weak, I am useless, and when I am useless, I was better off dead.

So, focusing on the dummy in front of me, I took a deep breath, before cutting it in half, rendering it useless.

__/__/__/

After receiving my "medications" from Dr. Stylish, I was both relaxed, and in pain in the same time. No matter how many times they dope me, my body doesn't want to get used to it, but fortunately, my mind has.

But, having taken my "medications", I planned to go back to training to calm my body down. However, before I could head to the training grounds once again, I was stopped by Gozuki-sama, Akame-nee's "father", and my current teacher.

"Good morning, Gozuki-sama." I greeted my sensei as I closed the door to Dr. Stylish's lab behind me, bowing a little to him as I did so.

"You would have to forgive me, Kurome, for I cannot say the same." His voice was grave, and I immediately tensed, prepared to be given a mission.

"I have grave news, Kurome. Your sister...." Hearing what he said, and how solemn his tone was, and how this was about my onee-sama, I expected the worse. I already felt like crying, but I °have° to not show emotions! I °have° to not show any signs of weakness! So, with everything I had, I prepared for the news.

"Your sister...Akame...she, my daughter...she defected from the Empire."

I froze in place, not wanting to believe what he had said. Though her dying was something I wouldn't be able to take, Akame-nee-sama °defecting° was an entirely different matter! Why would she, when the Empire had given us so much! They gave us a home, even when we had to spill blood for it. They gave us food, even when we had to fight for it. And They gave us a reason to continue, even when the drugs in my system hurt!

And, without even realizing it, I stepped up to Gozuki-sama and demanded, "May I go retrieve her? If she ever joins the Revolutionary Army, then some of our secrets will be found out, and not only that, but Akame will become an enemy that we couldn't afford."

My onee-sama was strong, and she could still get stronger. Even now, she could take on most of the Elite Seven, one of the strongest the Empire has to offer, and having her as an enemy would be something we wouldn't want.

I felt sad, angry, confused, and betrayed by what my onee-sama had done! But I must conceal, to not feel any emotions.

"Good. I have been looking for you to retrieve your sister. Akame had yet to join the Revolutionary Army, and she was seen earlier in Tasaru, a village a few kilometers west. Out of all of us, you know her best, and unfortunately, but fortunately for us now, she will hesitate in killing you. Once you retrieve her, she will be severely punished. But since she's an important asset, they won't cripple her. You must hurry, before she's gone."

I didn't wait any longer, and I immediately ran towards the nearest window to jump from it, even ignoring how Murasame -strapped to Gozuki-sama's waste- matched Yatsufusa's beauty. We were on the second floor, so landing hadn't hurt me at all. And as soon as I touched the ground, I immediately sprinted towards west, determined to take back Akame-nee.

__/__/__/

Once I reached Tasaru, I went for the closest person I could reach, and grabbed them by their collar.

"W-woah!" They, a woman, exclaimed as I stared into their eyes, making sure to release some killing intent to intimidate them.

"Have you seen a teen that looked like me?" I asked her with my usual emotionless voice, but my hold onto her collar told her otherwise.

With a slightly pained expression, she hurriedly answered, "Sh-she just le-left!! W-went to th-the docks!!!"

Having what I needed from the woman, I threw her to the ground, ignoring the gathering crowd, and headed towards the place where I thought to be the docks.

Moments later, I arrived in an empty docking port. There was nobody here, not a single soul. But I felt someone close, someone who was watching me. Deciding to take the risk, I let go of Yatsufusa's handle and called out, "Akame-nee..."

It was silent except for the river, like there wasn't anyone else but me here. But I could still feel °her°.

"Stop hiding, Akame-nee..." I waited for my onee-sama to come out, and after a while of nothing, I was about to start breaking apart every crate I saw, to hope that she was hiding behind one of them, but I didn't need to do it anymore, as Akame-nee appeared in front of me, jumping out from the treeline.

"Kurome..."

We stared at each other, trying to converse with out eyes, to try to understand. But I couldn't. I just felt so betrayed, more so when I wasn't able understand it when °they° sold us.

So, with the calmest voice I could achieve, I asked, "W-why?...." And unfortunately, I still stuttered, and I could tell some of my emotions leaked out. Though, it seems that it was able to affect Akame-nee.

"Kurume... Join me... Let's leave the Empire! It's...it's disgusting! What they do, what they continue to do-! The Empire, we need to escape from it!" I could see it, the determination in her eyes. The determination to leave the Empire, our home, our savior.

"They don't care about us, Kurome! We're only pawns to them! °Objects° to be used! To be replaced! And the people! The people are nothing but slaves to them! For them to use, just like °us° at their convenience! They make the poor rot, while the rich abuse their power! It's disgusting, Kurome!" Akame-nee continued, and I couldn't help but break a little inside with every word she continued to say.

The Empire may not be perfect and fear was used to rule the people, but it was just to keep us all safe! If we couldn't keep peace inside the Empire, how could we achieve peace outside!? And who cares about the poor!? They're wastes that should be grateful that they still get to be inside the Empire's walls!

"Please, Kurome...join me... Let's leave the Empire and live a better life! Please! Come with me!" It hurt, hearing how desperate my onee-sama sounded. How desperate she sounded for me to come with her. And I almost wanted to, just to be with my onee-sama. But no! It would be a waste of my friends' sacrifices!

As much as I hated it, I took hold of Yatsufusa's blade and pulled it out of its saya and raised it high up to the sky. I noticed how onee-sama's expression turn grim, but I didn't care right now. I couldn't afford to care. In order to bring back onee-sama to the Empire, I have to go all out. So, summoning Natala and 2 of my 7 Class 3 Danget Beasts puppets.

"My mission is to retrieve, Akame-nee." That was all I said before I dashed forward.

__/__/__/

My Akame-nee-sama was strong, and it was to be expected that I was defeated. Even with the advantage in numbers, she was still able to defeat me. Akame-nee was truly strong, stronger than me. Even when I was strengthened with the drugs, even though I had the numbers, even though I had a Tiegu, I was still defeated.

Though, as ashamed as I am of myself, I was a bit glad she didn't have a Tiegu, because I would have died for sure.

"Kurome...I hope you'll understand why I did this. Someday...I'll save you. So please, wait for me." She, who was on a raft, smiled sadly at me. And I was sure, it would be the last thing that I'll be able to see from her for a long time.

"Goodbye, Kurome." With her final words, she cut the rope trying her raft the the dock, where she soon began to drift away.

But even so, I tried to crawl towards her, to reach her. Even when my body was bloodied and tired. Even when I had a few broken bones. I still tried to crawl towards her. However, darkness had slowly enveloped my sight. And before I lost my consciousness, the sight of the dock my onee-sama left from was replaced by a pair of legs.

__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/[[Kurome's POV]]

Slowly, I began to feel...awake. I was starting to regain consciousness. I was able to feel that I was lying on something hard, the ground, I guessed, but my head was on something soft. From my left, I felt something warm...fire. And on me, I felt something draped on me.

Through my training and the teachings I received, I didn't show a single sign of waking up, assessing my current situation. I remember fighting my onee-sama, on how I was defeated and had lost consciousness. And now, here I was, in a place I don't know. And though I didn't hope for the best, if I was still alive, feeling nothing restricting me, then whoever "saved" me must either have plans for me, just one of this kind-hearted people, or were one of those eccentric people.

I was to continue with faking my sleep, trying to find out if there was someone close by, but my heart almost jumped out of my chest when I heard a voice above me. "There ain't no need to pretend. We're all friends here."

I was about to react, to get a hold on anything I could use as a weapon, but my body had failed me and refused to follow my command.

"Hey! Don't just move sah suddenly! Ya wanna damage your body more th'n it already is!?"

Though I was in pain, I was also surprised with the woman's -I was sure they were a she- worry filled voice! The worry in her voice wasn't what surprised me though, rather, it was because of how genuine her worry was! It didn't sound, nor feel, like there was something hidden in it, something I wasn't used to.

"Just stay layin' down'n me. Yer covered'n cuts and yav gat two broken legs! The pills I gave haven't set in yet, but once't does, it would quickly heal yer injuries, ev'n yer broken bones! It'll also cleanse yer body of impurities, so the drugs'n yer system should be gone with yer injuries. And it sh'ud also help ya with the withdrawal. Physically, ye should be fine, but let's deal with the mental problems later." I didn't know why, but I continued to listen to her, to listen to her voice. I didn't understand what was happening, but she was healing me? I don't know, I'm too tired to know.

And, moments later, the darkness had taken me back once again.

__/__/__/

When I came back to, I noticed the same softness from before still behind my head. 'A pillow?' I thought to myself as I slowly started to notice how weak I felt. Yet, oddly enough, I felt more relaxed and free.

Then, for whatever reason, I opened my eyes, ignoring the teachings drilled into me, and I was met with the most surprising, but also the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

"Good, yer awake." The woman...the goddess said in a dialect? I didn't know about. Her voice was...so soothing and alluring, even when the way she spoke contrasted differently from it. And not only that, she was a beauty beyond this world. Though I had a hard time seeing her face from het bust, I was still able to fully see her unearthly beauty.

"Beautiful..." Unconsciously, I muttered the thought in my head, and I was able to see a hint of pink appear in her cheeks, and I don't know why, but I felt happier.

"Well aren't you the charmer." I was able to hear her wonderful voice once again, and it just made me happy. And before I knew it, all the conditioning I had done to myself -read as; done by the Empire shits- had disappeared, and I smiled.

"*Giggles* Come now. The pill shu'ld've done its job. So ye can sit up'n eat by yer'self." With her encouragement, I made myself sit up, and though I still felt incredibly weak, I was still able to do something simple like sitting up.

"Wait for me 'ere." The Goddess instructs me, and I just followed as I lay my back against the wall. Looking around, I immediately noticed that we were in a cave, and in the middle of it was a campfire that had something cooking on it. There some items around us, but they were not of importance. Though, what caught my attention was the scythe in front of me!

It was...something I couldn't explain. It felt just like Yatsufusa, it was both menacing and beautiful, and it felt like it was calling for me. The scythe reminded me of a Teigu, like it was the same as Yatsufusa, but different, something on a different level.

And as I continued to observe the wonderful scythe, someone suddenly blocked my vision. I was surprised, of course, but I didn't let it show. My control of my emotions may have been a bit weird right now, but I was still able to school ny expression, to calm down.

"Cool, isn't it?" The Goddess asked in her smoky voice, and I couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Cool" might not be the word I would use, but it was still "cool" all the same.

"Feel like't's callin' for yeh?" She hands me a bowl as she asked me her question, which I took and nodded.

"Good. We'll talk about it after yeh eat. You've been asleep for the whole day." When she began to speak, I already had the spoon filled with soup in my mouth, but I nearly spit it out when I heard how long I was out.

Forcing the soup back down, I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart. With how long I was gone, I'd be presumed dead. However, if someone had went to check where my sister and I fought and found no body, they might brand me as a traitor and had joined my sister. Hopefully, if they did, I would be able to talk to them and explain what happened.

"Hey hey! Stop worryin' and eat yer food." Following what she said, I suddenly stopped worrying and began to eat my soup, relishing how good it tastes.

"What's yer name? Mine's Derierei."

Since she introduced herself and had asked for my name, I smiled a bit as I put my bowl done.

"My name is Kurome. Thanks for...saving? me by the way." I extended my hand, and she immediately got the message and shook it. And I am not embarrassed to say that I blushed upon contact. The feel of her skin, the softness, it felt so unreal. It was even softer than the women I had beded -read as; sexually assaulted me-.

"Mmm~. Well, you're lucky actually. Even'f I wanted to save ya, I wouldn't'ave been able to. But, like I said, yer lucky. B'in looking for yeh f'er a long time now." As she spoke, I went back to eating my soup, not having enough. I was curious about why she wouldn't have been able to save me even if she wanted to. And how I was lucky, and that she's been looking for me? for a long time now.

"Let's just say I'm like'a ghost."

I raised an eyebrow at that, not fully believing her. But even though she had an amused -and sexy- smile on, I could tell that she was being serious.

"A real ghost?" I couldn't help but ask, gulping down the soup in my mouth before I questioned her.

"Kinda like'a ghost. I can't be seen by people, they can't touch me, but I can touch them, move objects like a normal person and can talk normally, but no one would see a body." Derierei explained, and though the existence of ghosts are a bit hard to accept, much less being saved by one, the world was filled with surprises, so, thanks to being able to get a hold on my emotions too, I was able to accept it, albeit apprehensively.

"Hehehe..." Derierei laughed a bit creepily, and before I knew it, she was suddenly half-way into the ground. I was obviously surprised, but my training and my conditioning was starting to come back, so I was able to not spill my soup from the sudden surprise.

"See? Well, there's m'er I want to say, but like I said, eat first. You'll nead the energy."

|3206|

[A/N: Akame Ga Kill is a go! Hope the chapter was good! Of course, since I'm confused with a lot of parts of AGK, I'm going to miss some and add some new things.

Also, I didn't know when Kurome got Yatsufusa, but I did find out that Gozuki, the teacher/father of the Elite Seven, the group Akame previously belonged to, was the previous wielder of Murasame, and Akame got the Teigu from killing him, so I assumed that Akame became part of the Revolutionary Army before getting a hold of Murasame.

And, for a while, Kurome will be a lone wolf, before forming a partnership with Oarburgh Clan. In canon, they were killed when they tried to assassinate Kurome and Akame's team, haven't really got that deep into the history. But, yeah, most of the clan were killed, with Chelsea being one of the survivors.

Just gonna share the info, the Oarburgh was mostyl? composed of women, and most of them were lesbian/bi, since their leader, a homosexual woman, kept bringing the women in her clan in an orgy, which she had also roped Akame and Kurume? into.

Also, I think the System's objective would be "Defying". Just that, an open concept. Which mean, it would defy the law, defy the authorities, something like that, and I'll make up something that would make Akame one of her long time goal.

Anyway, hope the chap was good.]