Chapter 25: Part 1. Unfamiliar Ghoul. Chapter 1: The Life of the Akame Group
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It was the 5th of July, 1026 according to the Imperial Calendar.
It was a hot, summer day. The sky was clear, not even a hint of at least a light rain. And only a light breeze kept one guy and two girls walking along the road from dying from the heat.
- Oh..." Wade sighed tiredly, for the umpteenth time.
- Stop whining. - Kurome said briefly, actively eating her biscuits, but it was obvious from the look in her eyes that if anyone did anything wrong, Kurome would either yell at the fool or just shush him. - we're no better off.
- Akame, who had even taken off her favourite white cloak that she had started wearing less than a year ago for the sake of this, and was left in a black t-shirt.
- You've got a hell of a mind to be out in the city in this weather," Wade grumbled, and got a slap from Kurome for it. - Ouch! Why?
- I warned you. - She shrugged her shoulders and continued to chew on her biscuits.
- Hee hee..." came from Akame, after which, the girl got an angry look from Wade... and he got another smack.
- What's that for now!? - the boy said indignantly, rubbing the back of his head.
- So he wouldn't look at his sister. - Kurome said sadly, looking down at her breasts.
- Oh, I think someone's jealous? - Wade grinned.
- No, I'm just warning you. - Kurome shrugged. - If anyone steals my boyfriend, you'll both lose your heads. And you'll be at the top of the list.
Wade turned a little pale, glancing at Yutsufusa's meaningful pulling out of his sheath.
- So... How long is it going to take us to get to Kyorocha? - Wade asked, trying to broach the subject.
Kurome snorted, driving her sword back into its sheath before continuing to chew on her biscuits. To her, Akame replied cheerfully, always amused by Kurome and Wade's arguments:
- A couple more hours and we'll reach it. Though... there should be a village nearby, I think....
- SAVE!!! - came a shout from the forest.
The trio looked at each other, nodding at the same time, then drew their swords and rushed towards the source of the sound.
- Shut up! - they heard another shout.
A few seconds later, the company ran out into the clearing, seeing a wagon, which was now being actively robbed by a few men of bandit appearance. Nearby, on the ground lay another man, who was now being beaten by a couple of bandits.
- I'll save the man, and you take care of the cart. - Wade said calmly, making a dash towards the bandits.
Akame and Kurome, meanwhile, headed towards the cart.
- Five targets. Eliminating. - The sisters said simultaneously, then rushed into battle.
Although it wasn't even a fight. It was more like a massacre. The bandits were dead before they realised what was happening, dead from the blades of professional killers. But for Wade, the situation was worse. He didn't have such developed skills, and therefore, by the time the last bandit's body fell from the cart, the guy was cramping the second bandit, and after a dozen seconds, he would have coped 100%, but....
- GRAAAA!!!!! - resounded behind Wade's back as he had to back up a bit.
And in the next instant, the guy was at Kurome and Akame's feet, with a huge gash on his side. Meanwhile, a huge bear jumped out of the bushes, where he had been sitting perfectly still for some reason, and tackled the squealing bandit.
- Wade!!! - Kurome screamed fearfully.
Akame, meanwhile, chopped off the head of the bear that had already managed to tear the bandit apart. Kurome pulled off her shirt, leaving her in a translucent tank top, and began wrapping it around Wade's wound like a bandage.
- Oh, dear..." came from the direction of the cart's coachman. - oh noble ladies, may I offer you my assistance and take your friend to my village, not far from here. Я...
- Hurry up!!! - Kurome bellowed.
The man shut up instantly, and sprinted over to Wade, lifting the wounded man up.
***
- Hurry up! - Kurome shouted, covering the wound in Wade's side with her shirt.
- It's getting close! - shouted back the coachman.
Akame, meanwhile, was rummaging through her bag for some medicine. However, she had run out of supplies two days ago, after the skirmish with the three snow dragons, and she realised that.
- Fucking bear! - Wade cursed, then groaned.
- Shut up, you bastard! - Kurome shouted.
- There's the village! - exclaimed the coachman.
A dozen seconds later, the cart stopped, and people began to arrive.
- Tatsumi!!! Help me carry the boy to the healer! - roared the coachman, jumping into the carriage.
- Yes!" said the russet-haired boy who jumped in after the coachman.
The two boys lifted Wade up, carrying him towards a seemingly old hut. Akame and Kurome followed behind them. At the same time, Akame threw her cloak over Kurome's shoulders, hiding the village boys' view of the nearly half-naked girl.
***
Kurome glumly drilled a glance at the bandaged side of Wade, who was currently shamelessly dozing off, reasoning that he had 'severe battle wounds'. Except, then the local medic interrupted him, saying that this wound was basically just a huge abrasion with a shallow cut.
Akame, meanwhile, was talking to Tatsumi, who was busily asking her who they were.
- Have you ever been to the Capital City? - Tatsumi asked with burning eyes.
Akame smiled weakly, enjoying the conversation. Or rather, Tatsumi herself. It had been a long time since she had interacted with someone so pure. Still, it was mostly just rich people hiring their team to eliminate someone. You had to live on something, and you couldn't live on Wade's fishing alone.
- A lot of times. - Akame replied, glancing at the door that opened and the healer came out.
- Your friend is fine. Your friend is sitting with him now, and she asked him to tell you not to disturb them. - The man said, and after a nod from Akame, he moved on.
- I take it you'll be staying here for a couple of days? - Tatsumi asked, following Akame towards the tavern.
- Mm-hmm. - Akame nodded.
- What's the Capital like?
- You've never been there? - Akame wondered. - From what I've seen and heard, you're one of the strongest in the village.
- Well..." Tatsumi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. - I and two others were sent there to work for the village a year ago... But... well, halfway there, we split up and I walked alone. I was picked up by a man on a wagon who agreed to give me a lift to the capital. But... how can I say this?" the boy hesitated. - Anyway, while I was going to the toilet, he left. I caught up with him... but he was almost completely eaten by some strange beast. I learnt from almost everybody! From our blacksmith, hunters, fishermen, healer... But the bite marks were unknown to me. And then, I got lost in the forest and a week later our hunters found me. It turned out I'd accidentally turned back, trying to find my way to the capital. And then they wouldn't let me go..." the boy sighed. - except that my mates didn't come back. Then a former merchant from the capital settled not far from here, who offered to help our headman run the village. And then things started to improve.
- That's how..." Akame said, her face darkening. The image of the white-haired boy who had been called a beast and a monster by many in her time was once again in her mind. An image that haunted her dreams quite often. Though her memories of Kaneki had turned grey, her dreams of him had become less frequent, and she had stopped crying at night, Akame was torn by the exact same longing for him as she had been a year ago.
"I wonder... what about the others now?" - Akame thought. - "Lubbock and Leone, as far as I know, are now living in the Capital City, working at that Lubbock manga shop. But here's Mein... Shelly... Yes, even Balls and Esdes. I know absolutely nothing about them."
- What's wrong? - Tatsumi worriedly looked at Akame's face.
- It's just that I remembered a guy. - Akame smiled sadly, stopping.
- 'Ahh...' Tatsumi smiled, clearly misinterpreting the smile. - I see... And why isn't he with you?
- Because he's dead. - Akame replied sharply, continuing walking.
- I'm sorry. - Tatsumi said after a few seconds.
Akame remained silent.
***
- How could you not see that damn bear!?!??? - A wild shout echoed throughout the village.
Akame, who had woken up, as was her custom, early, realised that someone was now having to run a speed cross, with an angry Kurome on her tail for motivation. The girl rubbed her temples, coming away from another dream about Kaneki throwing fishing nets into the sea with a manic giggle.
She'd rented a room for two last night, though Kurome had spent tonight at Wade's place. After washing her face, Akame cast a glance at her clothes, neatly arranged on the back of a chair. Examining them, the girl concluded that the laundry she had asked the maid working at the tavern to do had been a success.
Putting on her black shorts, just below the knee, and a black, solid-coloured T-shirt, she looked out the window and smiled faintly. The entire sky was covered in clouds, and lightning flashed in the distance. Akame put on her black trainers, before picking up the last element of her wardrobe.
A white cloak, with red lines along the edges of the sleeves and hem, as well as on the chest where the cross pattern was woven together. For some reason, it had caught her eye in a shop in a city called Lelan, far to the east of the Empire.
After getting dressed, the girl left the room and walked down the stairs to find Tatsumi waiting for her. The boy had followed her around relentlessly all day yesterday, barraging her with questions about their travels.
- Good morning! - The guy greeted the girl cheerfully.
- Mm-hmm. - Akame nodded.
- Breakfast is already prepared. - Tatsumi readily pointed to the already set table.
At the sight of it, Akame's eyes skewed. Lots of salads, and only one small (by her standards) piece of meat.
- After seeing your beautiful figure, I decided that it would be barbaric to spoil it with heavy food, and so I presented you with all these wonderful salads! - came a rapturous male voice from Akame's right.
Its owner, was a slightly overweight, fully grey-haired man, roughly living around fifty, dressed in a white apron and cap.
- Put it away. - Akame said coldly. - Meat. Just meat. And lots of it. - and those words ended with a little bloodlust that Akame began to exude.
The cook whispered something apologetically, then rushed to fulfil the killer's demand in fear.
- By the way, why do you care about me so much? - Akame turned to Tatsumi abruptly.
- So it's... - stammering, began the guy, waving his hands. - You saved one of our main merchants who was bringing us money from the Capital!
- Why wasn't he guarded? - Akame raised an irritated eyebrow.
- As he said, the bandits who attacked him were the guards. But they decided to steal from him. - Tatsumi sighed.
- Uh-huh..." nodded Akame. - Alright, give me the meat here and I'll go to Kurome and Wade's place.
***
After only 3 days, there was only a slight redness at the site of Wade's wound, largely due to the guy's possession of the Chariot. Still, even in inactive mode, it somewhat accelerated the regeneration of the host, though not by much. And as a result, the team decided to leave the village for the morning.
The sun had long since set, and Akame, Kurome, and Wade had just made the decision to go to bed. Along with them, still walking around was the beaten Tatsumi, who had foolishly managed to get into a training sparring session against Akame. As a result, the guy lost to the girl in just a dozen seconds, with a lot of bruises on his body, as well as terribly sore testicles, which he got on the fifth second of the fight, when he managed to get close and almost accidentally pressed his shoulder against the girl's chest. Actually, 80 per cent of his injuries were sustained after that moment. And another 10% after the fight, already from Kurome, who didn't like that scene either.
Backpacks with things were already packed and stood in the room, waiting for the owners, so our heroes were in no hurry. But...
- KHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - There was an inhuman howl from the forest. It was followed by a dozen similar howls, but a bit quieter. And the worst of it was that they began to rapidly approach towards the end.
The whole four instantly bared their swords. There followed, full of terror, a woman's scream, but after a few seconds it ceased. Akame, Kurome, Wade and Tatsumi, who were running towards the house from which the scream was coming, saw two creatures jump out of the window, and as they landed on the ground they stared at the foursome, then took a deep breath and started to back away from the men.
They looked... creepy. Hairless black skin, with gaps glowing orange, resembling veins. Huge front paws with muscles far more pumped up than any other. The muzzle was even more horrible. Instead of a nose, holes, not even covered by skin. The maw was also an open mouth, without even a hint of lips or gums, teeth. More like teeth. The eyes, on the other hand... made Wade, Kurome, and Akame recoil backwards. Completely black whites, with bright red, slightly glowing scarlet pupils.
The hind paws, also had five toes with huge claws on the ends. Sexual organs, were also absent. And now, the four humans and the two monsters were drilling each other with their gaze.
Here, one of the strange creatures took a neat, small step towards them, staring into Akame's eyes. The four of them immediately raised their swords, after which both monsters jerked slightly, and lowering their eyes, jumped backwards, disappearing from people's sight a second later.
- Wh-wh-what the hell is this!??!? - Tatsumi exclaimed, lowering his sword with trembling hands.
- Those eyes..." said Wade.
- Ghoul eyes. - Kurome finished.
Akame remained silent, still looking at the corner of the house behind which the creatures had hidden. Memories of those eyes came back to her with renewed vigour, but she managed to force herself to speak up:
- If they're Ghouls, or at least something that looks like them, people could get hurt. After them.
As the four prepared to run after the strange creatures, a mocking voice came from behind them:
- "Don't let them get in the way. They're here on special business, and they won't hurt innocent people.
Turning around, Akame, Kurome, and Wade instantly tensed up when they saw a black-haired guy with a kakugan in his eyes. He was a tall brunette, wearing a black, unbuttoned jacket, with scarlet inserts on the sleeves. Under the jacket, there was a brown waistcoat, and a white shirt underneath, and black jeans and trainers. The hood of the jacket was thrown over his head, which made the guy's figure even more intimidating.
He smiled brightly and sincerely at the foursome, looking at Akame unwaveringly.
- Who are you?" Kurome asked briefly.
- Me? - The guy interjected, as if waking up from paralysis. - My name is Alex Mercer. And you can relax, they won't hurt you, just like the rest of the humans.
- You talk like you can control them..." Wade grumbled, casting a disgruntled glance at the frozen Akame, who had fallen into a similar paralysis, watching the stranger.
- Yes. And I promise they will only kill one man. He is a friend of a very important enemy of mine, and I want his head. And I mean that in the truest sense of the word.
- Who the hell are you?!? - Tatsumi bellowed, then lunged at the guy who introduced himself as Alex Mercer.
- I'm the one who will kill you if you try to do something like that again. - Alex said coldly... just grabbing the sword blade flying at him with his bare hand, and then snatched the sword out of Tatsumi's hands and threw it on the ground, bending the place he grabbed and not getting any damage.
Tatsumi recoiled in shock as he watched the bent sword fall. At this point, Alex was already dodging Murasame's flying sword.
- Akame... - Alex spoke, moving behind the girl's back and blocking the elbow that was flying at him. - I've been wanting to see you for a long time... - dodging another vertical strike from bottom to top of Murasame. - exactly like this. - Akame tries to reach the guy with her foot, but he blocks easily, gently letting go of her leg, much to the even greater surprise of the trio of assassins. - You, who is finally not living in the past. - Here's Murasame already flying towards the guy's chest... - And who forgot Kaneki Ken. - and a black blade instantly grows in the blade's path.
It was one of the ends of a paired blade that looked like it was alive, having scarlet veins pulsing slightly with light. And it was coming out of Mercer's right hand, hooked in place of the hand itself, which took the form of a black mass, with similar scarlet veins.
- You-" Akame hovered, looking into Alex's eyes.
At that moment, Alex's head moved back slightly, letting Yutsufusa's blade pass by. At the same moment, the guy's weapon disappears and Murasame bursts forward, while the guy himself steps aside. Yutsufusa and Murasame collide, and at that moment both swords are thrown aside by Wade's blade, and the guy flies backwards into the girls a second later. Meanwhile, Tatsumi came at the enemy again, with a bent sword in his hands, but Alex didn't even look at him, grabbing the sword by the blade again. Seconds later, the green-eyed man flew after Wade, crashing into a pile of moving bodies.
Kurome and Wade were about to rush back into the attack, while Akame sat on the ground, still staring dumbfounded at Alex. But then, the boy jerked his head to the side, and for the next second, a howl lit up the village.
- Mission accomplished. - said the boy sadly. - I'd like to talk to you more, but... there's not much time right now. Then we'll talk later. - Alex sighed... and then just disappeared.
- And what was that just now? - asked a question Wade didn't know the answer to.
***
Akame sat near the entrance of the tavern, looking at the commotion. That target Mercer had spoken of turned out to be the village elder. According to eyewitnesses, three creatures had come, and then one of them had torn the elder in half, after which a red channel stretched from the creature to the body of the elder, and after a dozen seconds, it was drawn back into the body of the creature, after which they fled into the forest.
But the girl herself, was far from that now. A flood of memories coming after meeting that guy, very much like Kaneki in many ways... the style of dress, the way he spoke... the look in his eyes.
Akame's memory.
- Akame and I are going to get our people out of the Capital! Esdes is in charge!
- Just don't die! - came Dorothea's reply from the lab.
- I promise! - chuckled Kaneki.
The end of the memory.
- So why didn't you keep your promise? - Akame whispered, and her eyes began to sting again.
"So much time has passed and I still can't get used to it." - Akame grinned bitterly at her thoughts.
Someone hugged her from behind, and turning slightly, she met Kurome's gaze. Resting her head on her sister's shoulder, Akame closed her eyes.
- Still, Kaneki was amazing. Even after death, managing to mess up the lives of those around him. - Kurome said cheerfully, causing Akame to smile weakly.
***
The assassins decided to leave the village before the superstitious villagers blamed them for the Ghoul raid. They would say something like, "You're cursed! Those monsters have come for you!" and then try to put the trio on a bonfire.
Akame hummed to herself as she continued to finish her preparations.
- He's coming with us. - Kurome briefly said as she entered the room, then reached into her bag for some biscuits.
Akame shifted her gaze to her, seeing the two guys next to her. Tatsumi, standing at the entrance, was glowing with happiness, but Wade wasn't far behind him either. The two boys had been friends for three days, as far as Akame could remember. Almost constantly going out together...
Akame circled Tatsumi's figure with a glance, then looked at Wade.
- Your idea? - The girl raised an eyebrow.
The fisherman, under her gaze faltered, starting to mutter something about, "could use some... more fun."
- All right, let him go. - Akame shrugged indifferently.
Wade was taken aback by this, shifting his gaze from Tatsumi to Akame in disbelief.
- Really? - The boy asked in surprise.
- Yes." the girl replied shortly.
- YUHU!!! - Wade squealed, even jumping up and down with joy.
- Your portion of food, from now on, will be divided into two. - Akame finished, continuing to zip up her backpack nonchalantly.
***
- Where are we going? - Tatsumi, who was walking next to her, asked with interest. It turned out that the guy had been longing for adventure for almost a year, but the elder did not allow it, and here was such a chance....
- Kyoroch. - Akame said briefly.
- Why?
- Not far from there, a couple of our friends are buried. - Wade interjected, knowing Akame's usual reaction to such questions. Namely, walking around gloomily for the next twenty-four hours. Right now, however, her state of mind wasn't much different.
- I'm sorry. - Tatsumi shut up instantly, looking down at his straightened blade.
- That guy..." Kurome began, chewing on a biscuit thoughtfully. - Alex Mercer. What do you think of him?
- Maybe some kind of new Emperor's brood? Or Dorothea's successful experiment, if she's still alive. - Akame shrugged, cheered up.
- Yeah, that wench certainly hasn't been missing since that breakup of ours. Oh, wait! She was gone before that! - Wade said playfully, pretending as if he'd had an epiphany.
- Hee-hee...," Kurome laughed.
- However, I think it's more likely to be the Emperor. - Wade continued seriously. - Dorothea had never succeeded, and from what Kaneki had said at the time, the revolutionaries at the time had succeeded in creating a more or less normal copy of Ghoul. And a year later...
- Yeah..." Kurome sighed. - For once, you said something sensible.
- Of course I did! I mean... HEY!!! - Wade realised the full meaning of the phrase.
- Hee-hee-hee-hee!!!
***
The 8th of July, 1026 according to the Imperial calendar.
The four were walking through the city that had the name: "Keroch". They were heading to the nearest tavern where they could rent a room for the day, after which they would head to their destination.
Having successfully done so, Wade and Kurome headed out, at Akame's request for a date. And the two remaining Tatsumi and the black-haired assassin herself, travelled to the graves of Bulat and Kaneki.
They were located at the top of one of the hills, a kilometre from the city. For some reason, at funerals, the Apostates were against normal cemeteries.
- Here they are. - Akame said as she and Tatsumi walked towards the graves.
She was answered by silence. Tatsumi didn't want to disturb the girl, but she literally dragged him along. With Wade and Kurome, they agreed to meet at the inn in the evening. In a couple of hours, the pair would also come here to honour the memory of their friend and boss, though short-lived, but firmly embedded in their souls.
- You know," Akame continued. - the ironic thing is that there's nothing under these graves.
- What do you mean? - Tatsumi didn't understand.
- They're just stones with inscriptions. Bulat's body was destroyed, according to Kaneki. And the last one died in an incomprehensible way, just turned into blood.
- Turned into blood? - Tatsumi asked dumbfounded.
- Mm-hmm. - Akame nodded sadly.
In the girl's eyes, the guy saw immense sadness and longing, along with small water droplets in them.
- Did you love him? - Tatsumi remembered Akame's phrase. - Is this the guy you were talking about?
- Yes." the girl answered briefly.
- 'And... have you ever wondered what would have happened if he was alive? All this time? - Tatsumi asked an unexpected question.
- I don't know. - Akame shook her head. - Probably would have been happy, after which I would have gone in search of him. But that's just a dream that won't come true.
- Who knows..." the boy replied strangely, before smiling almost imperceptibly with the edges of his lips. - Have you ever asked yourself if you still love him?
- Yes," Akame answered instantly. - I do. - She wondered why Tatsumi was suddenly asking such impertinent questions.
Tatsumi was already smiling openly, but Akame was standing with her back to him and didn't see that smile. In the next second, he swayed slightly, pondering the strange feeling from a few seconds ago.
- Who's buried here? - He asked suddenly.
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