Taigen, a small town distant from the empire, was the place of interest.
Taking place there, a carnival-like event was going to be held at the town's square. The townspeople crowded the streets as they all gathered with anticipation. Confetti infested the air, and the atmosphere became more lively than the town's usual mundane tone. The reasoning was that the event was going to be held by one of those travelling performers, known for travelling to different towns within the continent—towns much like Taigen.
From a society where the Empire is becoming less stable than ever, these travelling groups are occurring more frequently, and nobody can really tell why, but it happened for a reason, and it seemed likely for a good or greater cause. Recently, the group that was present at today's scene had seemingly recruited three new members a week ago. However, it appeared that they all were too young to fulfil full-time workers' standards. Explained that these members are only temporary and are only staying because, "We lost our parents and are now looking for a new home."— It made sense why to recruit them.
Despite their inexperience, they were all given the opportunity to finally perform rather than help with the tasks backstage that they would usually do as experienced from their first performance upon recruitment.
Behind the stage, while the girls performed for the townspeople, a black dagger was drawn against a metallic handheld whetstone—the friction of the sharpening satisfied the rather silent scene. Yashirou didn't care about this "stupid show," which the girls took care of, and instead, he used the time to focus on what he considered important. He was one of those three recruits. His hair appeared almost black, but a quarter of it was white, which made him really stand out, and his clothing appeared to be heavy and practical. He was also of average height. Noticeably, his appearance seemed to be monochromatic, as his hair and the combatant coat he wore nearly matched the exact same black and white colour scheme.
Whilst he was given a chance to perform, he chose to reject it.
As he focused on the sharpened blade, he wanted to verify if it was sharp enough and grabbed a nearby sheet of paper that lay on the wooden table adjacent to the stool that he was at. With precision, his dead-set but sharp black eyes focused on the paper held up, quickly slicing the thin sheet of paper. Testing the sharpness of the dagger, the cutting speed didn't show any signs of improvement, and it would be a good idea to return to sharpening the weapon.
Before he could pick up the whetstone again, a young woman with long tied blonde hair—dressed up like a seductive dancer—arrived to check on the young man.
"Hey, Yashirou, Are you alright?" Natalia asked.
"I am sharpening my dagger; please don't distract me right now." Yashirou said, wanting to continue sharpening the blade.
The woman replied, her face about to persist.
"Can you tell me why you aren't performing at the show—the girls? It's about to start, and Tsukushi was telling me how she wants you there."
He sighed. It was obvious that he didn't want to partake. "Well, miss, I was told that I had to mind this place while the show goes on, while I did have the option to perform—rather, shall I not embarrass myself in front of a crowd and. focus on the important stuff, you know?"
For Yashirou, at this time, he much preferred to use this time to focus on his current goals rather than perform from the likes of Tsukushi and Akame. He cares about them, but not during this moment in time.
"Well, you are going to miss out, Yashirou—I have to perform now... see you later."
"Good luck with your performance, I guess, Natalia—pfff... Like I ever cared."
Natalia left to go to the stage, leaving more time for Yashirou to continue to sharpen with the whetstone. As soon as she began to walk away, Yashirou lifted the dagger up in the air and held it up while she was still in his sight.
"She has no idea why I am sharpening this knife, but she will find out later... and it will be the last thing she will ever learn..."
Yashirou looked around the tent as he allowed the weapon to disappear within his fist—this was not an ordinary piece of steel. There was an initial reason for staying off from the show. The sharpening of the blade was, in fact, to prepare for a "surprise." That was planned to happen soon. Let's presume this upcoming surprise was "innocent," "harmless" because that was how the three presented themselves upon recruitment. One thing to note was that he knew he had to finish his main objective as soon as possible.
Time had finally passed, which meant the performance had finally concluded. The meeting amongst the adults was spoken, and Taigen was checked off the list of places to visit according to the plan. It meant everyone had to pack up to get ready to travel for the next destination. As everyone left the business tent, they were to settle things for the night before finally heading off. Outside at camp, all three gazed above at the blue sky—the clouds and a flock of blackbirds that spread out their wings.
"Ya-sama... This mission is so tiring; when will the time come?"
In front of him was Tsukushi. She was a petite girl—brunette hair decorated with flowers—blue and yellow, a short stature, and a pure face. She appeared to be the embodiment of cute in a pure and innocent way. Yashirou, knowing her for most of his life, deeply cared about her, but not as far as how much she cared for him back. She deeply trusted him, and Yashirou couldn't get a day without speaking to her. Nonetheless, they both were heavily dependent on each other.
"It will be fine, Tsukushi-chan; it hasn't even been a week." Yashirou advised Tsukushi, who felt a bit worried, petting her head.
"I was sharpening Accelerators while you were performing with Akame."
"Anyways, we all should remember that Father messaged us recently that our targets will "bite the bait" tomorrow." Yashirou informed the girls.
"—Considering we are to move locations tomorrow, this would be the perfect time."
Tsukushi felt relieved after hearing the plan and knowing how dedicated Yashirou was to fulfilling this objective. , "So we can finally finish with them soon?"
He gave a nod, meaning "yes, our objectives will be done sooner.".
Beside Tsukushi was Akame, the last of the three. Her stomach started to growl as she responded, "I feel so nervous about the mission that... I feel hungry."
She may not have the prettiest face, but her face was also pure and innocent enough to be convincing for the operation. Her crimson red eyes and long black hair flowed down to about her knees. Akame was Tsukushi's best friend within the group if it wasn't for the young man. She was like the older sister that Tsukushi never had.
"Akame, you are really just like that, like always." Tsukushi giggled. If there was something that Akame loved, it was food due to her big appetite. Her most favoured food, to be exact, was cooked meat, especially if it was of the exotic variety, such as danger beast.
"Well, food is what makes me efficient, and I have to rely on it."
"I suppose Akame." Tsukushi responded to the hungry girl.
Amuria walked towards the three. It seemed that she may have overheard their conversation. She was another member within this travelling group. Appearance-wise, she was an average-looking woman with dark reddish hair, but note that the way she is dressed is fancy because she is a performer.
"Akame, Tsukushi, and Yashirou, dinner will be ready soon." She called out.
"Akame, you can have as much as you want." Amuria rejoiced as she winked at the young three. For her, she sees and treats all three like they were her own family.
"Really, Amuria?" Akame beamed, feeling happy and grateful, knowing she will be able to eat soon.
"Yes, Akame, and besides, the boss said good things about you three. You all should be proud of yourselves."
Yashirou, Akame, and Tsukushi smiled happily back at Amuria. It meant that they were giving the targets the right impression, unbeknownst to them that they were instructed to be like this in favour of the instructions sent out by Father. Shortly, a tall, slim man with short, jet-black hair made it to the scene, a round barrel held over by his right shoulder. Kouga—they called him.
A man of fit physique, a formerly celebrated athlete before becoming a full-time performer to help fulfil whatever the intention that the travelling performers had in mind. As everybody else packed up and put down the camp, it seemed that the man was here to inform the three about something that he considered in a way to them. The way his face looked indicated that the message was urgent.
"We have to pack up as soon as possible. We are to leave by sunrise and expect to be in our next spot by midnight before heading to our next town. Got that clear?" Kouga straightforwardly informs the three. To strengthen his words,
"It's so that we can be safe."
Tsukushi started to experience a small sense of worry and fear. "Is it..." She trembled. "—Because of the infamous bandits from the Shiranami mountains?". It happened that the next destination involved crossing a region where a dangerous group of bandits resided—the Mount Shiranami Bandits.
"You're right. Some of them are made from former members of the Northern Tribe. They do whatever they want on the people that they get their hands on. They are pretty savage and brutal, so we must take caution, just in case, considering that our next destination is within Shiranami."
It became clearer once I heard such a response. These were no ordinary bandits, rather a "society" of the deranged with no regard to others. The concerns about possibly encountering feral bandits became a priority. Thanks to her, a warning was acknowledged. After dinner and the following morning, the group ensured that they would take a safer route if possible when the time comes. Tomorrow starts the beginning for the next destination or maybe for them to "bite the bait..."
"It TREMBLES!!!"
"Get away; I am going to vomit NOW!"
He was always the "big and tough guy" of the group, but at this moment, he was able to cry. Duncan felt sick as the waggon trekked across the steep mountainous terrain towards the next destination. Even though he was physically imposing and fit, like every other person, he had a weakness, and that weakness was his motion sickness. As he sat down—his large hands on his bald head, his body positioned in a way to protect himself from the pain he felt.
"Geez... So it's motion sickness again. You're always like this." Kouga commented.
"Big Potato, you're so pathetic; why can't you learn to not make this a big deal?" Natalia sighed. The man knew that motion sickness was no joke and that it was serious for him. After all, note the word "sickness.". He was not impressed at all and began to lock his eyes on Natalia. Although he was mad, he was a man who knew others' weaknesses and would take advantage if so.
"Hiss... A snake!"
The young woman began to shriek as she panicked. Something was thrown at her—it was long, and it felt like a snake. As mentioned before, everyone had a weakness, and for Natalia, it was snakes or anything that was serpentine. Natalia was now on the other side, her arms cuddling both Akame. Akame didn't look impressed at all. She picked up the "snake" that was thrown at Natalia. "It's just a piece of rope. You don't have to be that fussy." She assured, albeit her stoic face showed how embarrassed she felt at the woman.
"Nice play, now I am really in a fuss." Natalia quietly snapped, getting up to approach Duncan.
"—You bald bastard!" She scolded, heavily breathing and latching onto Duncan's neck. Natalia's reaction may have revealed that both of their weaknesses were something to not trigger and something to consider when getting to know them.
Duncan started to regret his actions—he thought it was funny but not anymore. He pleaded to get himself out of this mess at this very moment.
"It's your fault for all of this! I cannot control my motion sickness!"
Meanwhile, Kouga started to feel triggered by such unnecessary conflict. "Quiet down!" He sighed in response, "Apologise to each other; remember that other people have something they have no control over." At the end, they apologised to each other, and the unnecessary conflict was resolved. Despite being resolved, Tsukushi became a thoughtful girl and approached Yashirou. His eyes were fixated on the moving view at the backseat of the waggon.
Yashirou's dull, almost dead expression told that he doesn't really care about their "next performance" nor the well-being of the crew but rather to wait for the time for the targets to "bite the bait.". From refusing to take part in the performance to becoming almost ignorant, it was clear that whatever initiative was in his mind mattered the most.
A voice was heard, "Yashirou-Sama!"
"The herbs to deal with motion sickness?"
Tsukushi urgently asked where the remedy herbs were because she simply wanted to help. Yashirou glanced at the girl. He yawned and got up from his seat to search the boxes where the medicine and remedies were stocked. A glance from box to box, and eventually the herbs were found. Yashirou lends the herbs to Tsukushi.
"Here, now go and grind them up and put them into a drink."
As he saw Tsukushi return back, he returned back to his seat and had a new thought on how he would have "cured the motion sickness" if it was him in charge instead of Tsukushi. He continued to remain silent but thought, if there was one thing to summarise it—poison.
Tsukushi ground up the herbs and made a remedy drink for Duncan, and as he took a slow sip from the glass, the man started to feel more at ease. He gave a thumbs up in response, "Oiii! Thanks, Tsukushi, for helping me. I feel better." Amuria patted Tsukushi's head. "You're so thoughtful, Tsukushi." She was awed, noting how caring she is. Tsukushi smiled, feeling accomplished after she helped someone feel better, which heavily contrasted with the thought of how Yashirou would've handled the same problem. Soon right after patting her head, Amuria asked where the herbs came from.
"Yashirou helped me. He was the one to find the herb, so you should be really thanking him."
Amuria responded with gratitude, "You're both so caring. We are lucky to have found you three." All of a sudden, as things started to settle on this journey by horse and wheels, the waggon abruptly came to a stop. Everyone moved back with caution.
—This was not a good sign.
Yashirou immediately looked out the windows to realise that they were, in fact, in the Shiranami mountains. He remembered the conversation and the warnings from yesterday about the group of hostile bandits patrolling this area. He knew something was seriously wrong. He knew that they had come across an obstacle.
"Tchhh. These people are such dumbasses; how do they openly warn us, tell us they will 'take the safe path,' and then end up at what they try to avoid?"
He was irritated and wanted to criticise the group for taking the journey on the route they wanted to avoid, regardless of if it was an accident or not. It was too late anyways, so he had to signal.
"Kouga!" Yashirou declared, "We are in the Shiranui mountains; that only means one thing."
In an instant, the black-haired man grabbed a short-bladed weapon, more specifically, what appeared to be a sword with a curved blade, out of the barrel of stored weapons—immediately rushing outside the waggon to check the surroundings outside. Surrounding him, his eyes widened in both shock and fear. It seems that such a sudden event was reflected in yesterday's conversation.
Before his eyes were the Mount Shiranami bandits—a horde of about a hundred men, to be exact.
"They are here, the bandits are here!" Kouga announced in fear. It was confirmed—Tsukushi was right.
These Mount Shiranami bandits are a group of men who patrol within this specific region. The bandits are mostly made up of criminals, Northern Tribe refugees, or former soldiers who had enough or wanted to rebel against their personal pressures they had faced in the past.
Infamously known for attacking anyone who comes across their region, referring to them as "trespassers" in attempts to loot their belongings and considering that the group is made out of hostile men. It shall be noted that women in particular must be very wary or even hide themselves when crossing the mountains, but if they know how to fight back, then maybe exceptions can be made, but still, these men are known to be sexually aggressive.
He stood at a cliff, licking his rotten lips as his twisted pride began to unfold.
"Oh... interesting, it must be one of those travelling circuses; that means a lot of money is on the line for us—watch out as you will all end today, trespassers!"
"It seems that they have a lot of women for us to play with," a supporting bandit smirked. It was no surprise that disturbing thoughts were to come to an instant from these men.
A second bandit said his thoughts, "We can loot both the money and the woman. This is why we hope for such trespassers to appear."
The boss, the driver of the waggon, and the lead nervously think about why such bandits would be in a place like this. He couldn't fight, so immediately he bawled out a loud call to the group.
"Everyone go grab a weapon; we must fight for our survival!"
At this rate, all ran out and readied their weapons. Yashirou's knife, the same one that he sharpened from earlier, manifested out of thin air, gripped on and on his other arm, and a second identical knife also manifested. It seemed that this was no ordinary weapon but rather something more significant.
"You three stay behind me." Kouga insisted to Yashirou, Akame, and Tsukushi. Kouga, being the ex-professional athlete he was, underestimated their true strength simply because they appeared young—assuming that they were less experienced and that he felt that he had to protect them.
"Oh... you want to fight us—right?"
"Captain, once we are finished, we show them our usual routine and show them who we truly are."
"—That's damn right, kill all of the men, and as for the women, we cut their legs and capture them so we have something for our pleasure."
The bandits were too excited to fight, as evident that they all spoke in a feral manner and blatantly revealed their so-called "plans" straight after. For them, they wanted to ensure that they looked as intimidating as ever; it was the obvious priority that bandits would do when they came across trespassers—usually. After all, this was a group of a hundred outcasted men with no regard to other human life.
"You bastards! You are not getting away with this!" The boss called back.
Akame was a girl, but unlike most girls, she was brave in this situation. With her courage, she took a few steps closer to confront the bandits even more. Everyone behind became concerned. Why is a young girl a usual target for such people, this confident to approach them?
Such a sight felt like watching a sheep walking to a pack of wolves.
"Hey, Akame! Step back!"
She didn't listen. Akame was more focused on confronting these men. She didn't want to listen to the warnings and knew exactly what she was doing. The black-haired girl looked up at his eyes, trying to find a response or to trigger him to get closer.
"Tell me."
"—Do you meet the expectations of all of the things that the rumours say about your people?"
The captain of the bandits instantly burst out laughing, obviously due to the warped man he always was.
"Of course we do!"
"We will silence young girls, no matter how ugly they are, like you—we will drown you in our own piss!"
The captain began to move, his steps feeling like a second closer to demise. He was really, like, badly hoping that Akame would be intimidated by his towering presence—envisioning that he would instill fear into her and make the girl feel regret.
Once at close range, the captain began to unsheathe a large rusty machete in front of Akame and pointed it towards her neck—at her throat.
Since Akame is a girl, it seemed likely that the bandit boss had thought of disgusting and violating plans for her if they succeeded.
"—Grrrr."
"Kneel down before I kill you; you either become our toy of pleasure or die by my hands!"
Akame appeared to be in a position of life or death, or that is what it appeared to be. She could obey his orders and live, but something worse can happen later down the line. Maybe she could unsheathe her weapon, but the bandit had his weapon readied and positioned in a way that could instantly place her into the grave. Akame, without a thought on this situation, went to kneel down before him, not to obey his orders, but the reason was so she could give Yashirou and Tsukushi a chance to ambush, but it was mainly as it was too late to unsheathe the katana strapped around her waist.
She knew she had the trust of her teammates and that they always had each other's back in the midst of trouble. In such a situation, Akame was calm, and it concerned the bandit's leader, but he was more focused on getting what he wanted from her.
"Young girl—please tell me all of your secrets—
Before he could speak any further, his eyes fully widened—red veins infesting white. In an instant, Yashirou dashed forward towards him.
Just as he was going to get an answer, a quick, unseen slash from a sharp dagger's blade sliced through the anterior region of his neck.
Blood splattered, killing him instantly, and the man fell down in front of Akame. The man was lured and manipulated all along.
"Yashirou?" Akame said, standing back up from her knees. Yashirou noted that the enemy was in a position that made him vulnerable to quick attacks, which caused him to kill the bandit's leader once and for all.
"Akame, the bandit may have had his machete out, but since he was so focused on you, it was the perfect opportunity to unleash an attack; however, you could've simply killed him yourself—look at your belt, Kiirichimonji is just right there."
Akame's face became clueless, but it was clear that Yashirou wasn't aware of Akame's intention in the first place, but it worked as intended in her view.
"What I did was lure in their boss; I reckon that he is the most powerful, so I remember an ambush strategy that 'Father' taught us against potentially strong enemies so we can save us some time."
"I nearly forgot about that, but you shouldn't always rely on this technique, as it could be very risky."
Akame had just performed a technique that allowed such a strong enemy to be killed in a quick and effortless amount of time, but Yashirou felt that since it focuses on pleasing the enemy, it can easily go horribly wrong since the enemy can always be unpredictable.
Although the captain was now dead—his death began a bloodfest at the Shiranami mountains. The remaining ninety-nine bandits who watched their boss get killed instantly caused them to be triggered to attack. Since their number outmatched their opponents, they didn't feel too pressured to attack after the loss of their leader; rather, they instantly and recklessly charged into battle. Some started to fire their rifles.
"The boss is dead!"
"Fire the ammo! Wolves!"
Tsukushi quickly ran across the surface—her elegance in combat as an assassin. Gripped in her hands were a dual pair of revolvers. The girl's sight was focused on several riflemen who were meters away from her. The men tried to fire away; however, being one of the three assassins, Tsukushi spun the pistols and, without hesitation, performed rounds before even one of the bandits got a chance to open fire.
BANG—BANG—BANG!
"Three headshots!"
Meanwhile, Yashirou and Akame were surrounded by an angry ring of bandits. It became clear that this was revenge for killing their prideful leader. A wave of swords and spears—both assassins were back-to-back watching the ring approach closer. With their weapons gripped on, Akame took the first initiative in such a dangerous situation. She dashed forward, leaving Yashirou behind, and unsheathed her katana—a swipe beheading three of the bandits.
"Eliminate."
Yashirou, witnessing Akame's first action, now had to make a quick decision. He ultimately decided he was going to head in the opposite direction. Running forward, he glimpsed back quickly to not only see some bandits trying to chase him but also Akame continuously clashing blades with some bandits; it was a reminder of the number and the arrogance that these men had.
A reckless bandit lashed forward behind his back, but with two sharp daggers held at a reverse grip, it meant nothing but an easy kill.
As the bandit came close, techniques were used; Yashirou's elbow flung at the chest as with the blade facing towards the chest of the bandit, and in an instant he was stabbed, the blade deep beyond the layers of skin, and suddenly—the bandit started to feel underwhelming pain.
Trying to stabilise himself, holding his chest harder, the unfortunate bandit fell to his death as black veins appeared and spread all over his body.
"Ackkk... I feel the heat getting into me."
More enemies hoarded and barged in seeing the death of one of their men. Analysing the situation in thought, Yashirou watched the bandits bash right through.
"I noticed how bandits are not battle smart in situations like these. Their only intention is to barge through and aimlessly abuse their weapons. No techniques, just trying to take advantage of their number."
More of the bandits approached.
Yashirou gripped harder on the two blades; Akame continued to duel while Tsukushi fired rounds at the remaining bandits. The Sabatini group's members watching from afar became amazed by these three, watching them fight these men continuously without signs of struggle.
"We must be lucky; these children seem too powerful." Natalia commented.
"We must follow up!" Kouga declared.
Most of the members, excluding the tired ringmaster and Amuria, followed and joined in the bloodshed, holding onto their respective weapons. They watched out for remaining bandits and fought to the best of their abilities. For the next while until the scene was clear—assistance from the group's members themselves.
What followed was a series of slashes and blows until only a small number of men were left.
Now with a decreased number, only a select few remained in this battlefield. Some ran away in fear, but the remaining bandits couldn't hold on to the fact that many of them were gone in an instant. Seeking vengeance was the only thing to come into their barbaric minds, but they were quickly shot by Tsukushi's bullets.
The three young fighters were now tired and didn't feel like fighting all over again. They may not kill them all, but most of their numbers decreased. Yashirou wiped off sweat on his forehead before letting his daggers disappear into thin air—only to reappear when necessary: a unique ability that assures that he no longer has to carry them.
In fact, looking at the weapons of Akame and Tsukushi—wounds are more fatal from Akame's katana, and Tsukushi's accuracy was beyond. If you pay close attention to their weapons, these were out of the ordinary, but at the same time, these weapons didn't match with the list of any of the Empire's forty-eight Teigu, so what was it that made these arms particular?
Yashirou looked at his pair of weapons one last time as they were infested with blood stains before making them disappear for the next time use. Upon turning his back, he spotted Tsukushi slowly walking towards him. The young girl also appears to be tired. Yashirou approached Tsukushi to check up on her.
"Yashirou-sama..."
"—Huh, what is it?" Yashirou questioned tiredly.
"Give me a piggyback. I am too tired."
"Tsukushi-Chan, you are more able to walk!"
Without a second thought, she clung onto Yashirou's back.
Tsukushi smiled so purely upon piggybacking the young man, but for Yashirou himself, carrying the girl on his back felt too heavy. He tried his best to make Tsukushi happy, but the heaviness was felt upon him.
"Tsukushi is a sweet girl, but I can feel it—soft, warm, and I can say that it is big."
"Yashirou-Sama, is there something wrong?"
Before he could answer, Akame had caught up with them.
"It's sweet seeing you both bond together. I am so... tired from using Kiriichimonji and... I am so hungry!"
"Cook me something soon, Yashirou."
"Seriously, Akame and Tsukushi-chan?!"
Yashirou sighed with Tsukushi clinging on. The two girls seem to be giving him a headache. He just finished fighting and now has to give Tsukushi a piggyback and to cook Akame some food later on. Despite the stress, Yashirou will, for the most part, do what makes his teammates happy, and that is a factor in what makes him a reliable ally. Kouga stood right outside the waggon, his arms crossed. He took notice of the three heading back from the tiring battle.
"—You three, it's time to jump back inside; we have places to be going—however, I appreciate how skilled you were when fighting the bandits. I wonder how you all got this trained at such an age."
Akame and Yashirou with Tsukushi on his back entered inside the waggon. Feeling tired, they all sat down and didn't even say a word, but with smiles on nearly everyone's faces, it was evident that they all felt victorious over fighting the horde of Shirinami bandits, even though not all were gone.
As the horse started to pull the waggon, Tsukushi leaned over to Akame and started to nap. Yashirou looked outside at the window. For the last while, along with the two girls, they had grown fond of this travelling company and showcased the best of their abilities to them, but soon, he knew that he had to let them all be gone for good, and that is the next thing that will happen.
"Sooner or later, they must all go. It isn't about fighting the bandits but rather the mission. They don't truly know who we actually are."
After a long battle with the bandits and a quiet ride, the group finally arrived at their next location, which was another rural town much like the previously visited Taigen. The boss and his crew set up the tents, ensuring that they can perform for the next show. It was a peaceful, quiet evening—the sky in warm colours, the sun. The next performance was scheduled for tomorrow, and everyone was inside a large white tent, which was used for the meeting area. Right now, the company's five members were discussing and trying to organise their plans for the scheduled show, but they couldn't ignore the three who didn't speak a word about their scheduled next show.
Amuria couldn't get the silence out of her head and stopped chatting for a moment so she could give her attention to Yashirou and Tsukushi. She warmly smiled at them and patted them on the head. Akame was also present, next to Tsukushi.
"Tsukushi, look at this flower I found; it reminds me of the flowers that I wear in my hair."
"It looks so amazing." Tsukushi smiled back.
"Mufufufu... I really am grateful to get to meet you both. From the past six days I have known you both along with Akame, all of the help, attention, and support you brought to us... I believe your parents would be proud of you all."
It seemed to be a wholesome moment; however, these two didn't feel the same way as Amuria did. In fact, as she praised the both of them, they smiled, a smile that looked and felt forced. They knew that she was actually unaware of what had to come. When thinking about it, this situation became disturbing in a way, but it had to be done. This was the moment that the targets would finally "bite the bait.".
The boss, the ringleader of the travelling performance company, shifted his attention to the three.
"Ahem." The boss began abruptly, his deep voice commanding the atmosphere, "For the last six days, these three young people had not only joined us but also benefitted us in the business and protected us from the evils, as seen from yesterday."
The four members stood beside their boss. To them, they believed it was vital to finally expose their true intention. They all felt that they gained enough trust from them all. As stated, "to bite the bait"—was the focus on Yashirou's mind at the beginning.
"Since it has been nearly a week since they joined us, we haven't told them the truth. Listen up, there is a reason why we travel from region to region besides entertainment... we all have a true calling."
Yashirou let out a small smile.
Inner dialogue on his mind upon this moment,
"They are falling for it."
Akame became seemingly flustered by this. What did it mean for this so-called "true calling"? Are they more than just a humble travelling entertainment group, or did they actually serve a hidden purpose?
Let's not pretend that Akame doesn't know because she actually knew who they were in the beginning.
"True calling?" she questioned so innocently to the standing adults in front of her teammates and herself. Tsukushi and Yashirou also had the same concerned-looking expression as the black-haired girl. These three are "really the children looking for a new home.". Let's assume that from the company's point of view.
"Correct." The boss answered from Akame's concerned expression.
"We as a group have a purpose beyond entertaining people across the empire. We, the Sabatini Company, intend to bring a change to the Empire's corruption once and for all. We travel, not to entertain but to seek the damage that the Empire had done to the people that call it home. Our cause is to bring justice once and for all in the guise of a circus group."
It was finally done—they all had fallen for the bait. Yashirou knew that they were unwittingly stupid the whole time.
Following the statement from their boss, Duncan expanded this "true calling" statement further: "You see, we are actually one of several groups affiliated with the Revolutionary Army that are working to change the country."
"—Yeah, we travel so we can gather as much vital information as we can to report to the Revolutionary Army, making our cause even more meaningful." Natalia followed, expanding even more on the idea of the "true calling.".
The Sabatini Company is made up of revolutionists working together under the guise of entertainers so that they had an actual reason to travel from town to town and gather as much information to report. Sabatini, appearing rather happy, snapped his fingers, his pride blindly getting ahead of him. He really did think that his bonds, along with the groups' relationship with the three, were going to become stronger now that they knew about their intentions as revolutionists working to "change the country" with what they had to say next.
"Now that you all know who we truly are, because of the skills and the hard work you showed us all!"
"—How about you officially joining us?!"
Tsukushi looked down, contrasting with the excitement that the boss had in mind. Amuria, the caring woman she was, became concerned. To her—why was it that Tsukushi suddenly looked so upset? She kneeled down and head-patted the young girl, hoping to calm her down a bit more...
"We're sorry if it's too much to think about. You may not know what is happening, but I will be more than happy to let you have more time to accept it all in."
"Amuria... I already knew that".
"—"
The vibrant triumph of their reveal as a revolutionary spy group suddenly died down, and there was nothing but silence. The recently hopeful faces that tried to persuade shifted to a very horrified and still look.
No words were said for a minute upon what had just happened—betrayal at first hand. Except for Akame and Yashirou, they all looked down at the floor as blood leaked and stained. It was a very clear image of why they became horrified.
Amuria was shot dead by Tsukushi's pistol.
"What the hell have you done?!" Natalia questioned in disbelief, finally a break to the horrific silence.
"Dammit, was it really that necessary? You straight up killed one of our friends!" Duncan snapped, tightening his fist.
After silence comes realisation, then anger. Kouga followed, declaring his own response, "We just reveal who we truly are, and this is the response that we are getting?"
"DON'T tell me that the other two are rotten to the core!"
Yashirou knew that this was bound to happen. "To bite the bait" was nothing but a metaphor for assassination. Yashirou, Akame, and Tsukushi were not lost but rather trained assassins. They knew the consequences when one of them was killed but noted that the scene that they were at—inside of a tent—meant a secluded space and less time to escape. It concluded that it was the opportunity for them to finally "bite the bait" once and for all.
With them all angered by the unexpected loss of a beloved friend, Yashirou replied to their sudden anger and grief to let them know why such a thing would happen in the first place. He firmly announced who they were.
"Akame and I are as guilty as Tsukushi. We were never looking for a new home but rather to have you all dead."
They became even more mad. They grabbed their weapons in defence, hoping they don't become next. Yashirou took the initiative and began to fight back.
"—Accelerators."
Yashirou manifested the daggers. It was time to fight back and finish the mission for all. Natalia grabbed two knives and recklessly charged; it was obvious that someone as redundant as her would do that after what had happened. She couldn't believe the betrayal and that she had just learnt that she had trusted the "enemy" the whole time. Tears of anger dripped down from her face.
"I only knew them for a week; we had their trust, and now they are betraying us."
"Yashirou, you must be as guilty!"
She came close to Yashirou, hoping to take vengeance, but he grabbed her neck so tightly and instantly, easily planting the sharp dagger onto her chest. Natalia couldn't speak properly, and her mumbles were a cry for help, but it was too late—the blade went deep into the skin: the condition for the effect to take place.
"For a snakebite to be successful, it must go deep into the skin for it to kill its prey effectively."
Lying on the ground, Yashirou kicked her body, rolling on the floor. The last words she ever heard and the way she was killed reflected on what she feared the most. It was painful and tragic yet poetic to the person she was. With Amuria and Natalia gone, the remaining try to fight Akame and Tsukushi.
Duncan charged, gripping on his heavy spear—to release the fury that he had enraged.
"—Urghhhh!!!"
"Akame, you bitch, PAY FOR YOUR SINS!"
"—"
Akame's face froze as a splatter of blood and a trail of smoke emerged from Duncan's head. A third one to drop dead. She looked over to see Tsukushi holding the pistol, smoking from the bore.
"I took another one down," she giggled, placing a hand on her mouth. It seemed that Tsukushi was no longer the embodiment of pure and innocent that she was always thought to be. It would be fair to say that an assassin would be one of the last things to expect from a person that looks like her, but being unpredictable is what makes an assassin effective. Kouga stood frozen. He realised his life was in danger, witnesses.
"Imperial spies."
It was all lost, all of the years of service and performance to finally come to an end. For the boss, he cornered himself in fear. He began to weep for mercy. His workers, his company, his face, and the heart of Sabatini. Mr. Sabatini, the founder of the company that takes his namesake—all gone. He was so vulnerable that he stopped caring for Kouga, who stood with a dropped face.
"Get me out of here!" He couldn't take it anymore; he rushed towards the exit and bawled like there was no tomorrow. The old man began to see the light of the tunnel, but unfortunately in this unforgiving world, hope often fails to arrive....
"..."
-Mr. Sabatini, the ringleader and founder of the company, upon reaching the exit, was brutally sliced in half.
"Hmph... foolish enough to think he had a chance to begin with."
A young man about their age with light blonde hair and holding a bloodied broadsword arrived at the scene.
"Chief!"
To all three, he was seen as the backbone of the group. He was the chief, their strongest and most reliant ally. It was obvious that he would be the first to check upon the mission status. Wind blew over the tent, its flaps revealing that the rest of the team, besides the chief, three more were also present.
"Look, guys, there's only one of them left," said the bespectacled, black-haired boy.
"Well, Papa will be proud of us," said the young girl with red hair.
"I knew they would do it; let's finish him off," commented the young blonde lady.
Yashirou, Akame, and Tsukushi exited the tent, their faces smiling when the whole team finally got to reunite. They were all here, seven of them to be exact. Kouga awkwardly stood inside the tent but followed and was then fully confronted with all of the seven assassins.
—The Elite *Seven.
"Uhhh..."
"Shit! You three were not suspicious at all, and now there is a whole-ass team."
He looked every direction. With nowhere to make an escape, he felt his heart beat faster than ever before. His life was basically over. He raised his hands up and pleaded for last-minute mercy, but the people he was dealing with didn't care what words or body language he tried to convey.
"Spare me. Look, I am a celebrated athlete; my wife misses me."
—but none of that even matters.
Akame unsheathed Kiirichimonji, the name of her katana. A quick deep jab to the heart was enough to finish him. Kouga fell to his knees. He finally accepted his fate and the defeat of his whole crew. He accepted that the three had won over him. Accepted that he will never make a change to the Empire.
"Using children like all of you to be weapons... that damn Empire..."
"—Let me tell you that you killed the wrong man; my wife is a dangerous woman, and she will eventually find out... I promised to change the country..."
With his last words heard, Kouga dropped dead on his knees—finally making the whole Sabatini company operation a success. A week-long mission has finally succeeded. Akame took a deep breath and felt a sense of honour from all of her teammates for placing the final nail into the coffin of this week-long operation.
"Time to return back, now that the Sabatini company has ticked off the box," the chief commanded. As everyone began to walk away from the scene, Yashirou stood and looked behind the camp, once prepared but now empty and devoid of life.
"What's wrong, Yashirou-Sama?" Tsukushi, with a concerned face, asked.
"Nothing."
Unlike his fellow Akame and Tsukushi, he felt a sense of guilt for partaking in this whole assassination plot. This was the contrast to the rest of the Elite *Seven, who don't think much after assassinating their targets. Silently standing with the gentle breeze on his face, Yashirou thought to himself one last time before moving on.
"I admit that they were all stupid, but in the end, they were all human. I was taught to show no remorse, to be a weapon of war, but kindness never left the inside of me. Was it my fault? Maybe it was, but I didn't have a choice."
He blinked and ultimately decided to move on; there was no turning back. A mission finished, but many more to come—the beginning of a despair from zero.