Fate: Kill

Chapter 7

Let the world tremor beneath its might. A massive sword that towered over thousands beyond mortal means. A behemoth that stood uncontested within the clouds like a looming executioner's blade.

He was falling. Falling so fast that the winds were whipping violently against his body, blowing him backwards and causing him to narrow his eyes in focus, an arm outstretched behind him in his descent.
He was not holding it. In fact, it appeared more as if it were levitating a few feet above his palm.
Ig-Alima, the Mountain Felling Sword.
He had jumped, unwilling for the weight of Ig-Alima to contest against the erected steel wall and as a result, he was diving forward. In the eyes of the rest, he was no more than a spec that existed beneath the pressure of the weapon trailing above him.
Yet that single spec had the ability to swing his arm downward and beckon the blade to fall.
That which could rend the mountains asunder, to fell demons and the opposition before it through sheer power alone, revealed its true ability. The Green Field Cutting Through Thousands.
It did not matter what stood before it. Mountains, walls, castles, armies, all were the same.
Mere objects to be cut down.
The winds blew fierce, tornado-like zephyrs forming around Ig-Alima's edge as it swung forth with the might of a giant.
It seemed to strike in slow motion, or perhaps it was merely a trick of the eye, but none could shift their attention away.
The events unveiling before them was something that wasn't humanly possible. None of the Teigu Akame could list in her mind possessed such a distinct and overbearing aura. It was suffocating, Ig-Alima's shadow stretching for miles on end, capturing all light in the area.
The world was roaring, a by-product of the sound barrier breaking.
Elaine and the others watching the events unfold had no choice but to cover their ears, and even then, the vibrations travelled up their bodies. Without even talking about back up, did Shirou even need it at this point?
The people of the Border Town simply watched in muted silence. This was the son of their General. The strength of the New Leader of the Border Town.
When Ig-Alima struck the first Mountain Shaker, the Danger Beast could hardly resist against the momentum and was swiped away. Then came the second, the third, and the fourth. Ig-Alima's strike only stopped with the combined efforts of all four. Even then, the mountains which they had carried on their backs were cleanly cut through, blood seeping in pools that showered over the tall trees.
"GO!" Shirou's voice resounded, snapping Akame and the others out of their daze. Despite the injuries the Mountain Shakers sustained, they weren't completely defeated yet, and it was Shirou who was buying time for them.
Once swung, Shirou could not easily lift Ig-Alima back up due to its size in comparison to his own. Akame and the rest had to act fast as they weren't sure what toll Shirou was paying to produce such a weapon.
Selka quickly snapped her gaze away, shutting herm mouth closed from how she'd once been gawking. It simply wasn't the time to remain still, not with Shirou taking on the greater danger.
She sucked in a breath, muscles growing taught and toes digging into the earth.
She burst forward with her kinsmen, her lithe form fully adjusted to maneuvering through the dense forest and resembling the figure of an elusive jaguar. The mystic codes Shirou had traced for her were in the form of two daggers strapped to her thighs. Once stabbed, Shirou had informed her that one dagger had the ability to instil temporary blindness while the other instilled paralysis.
Shirou then explained to her how to properly use them, but she stopped listening after he started using terminology that she was unfamiliar with. She simply nodded her head from thereafter and she was certain that it was the same for the other Hunters of Heiwa. Besides, all that mattered was that she knew that stabbing them was all that she had to do. She just had to think of the people of Hageshi as one of the many wild animals her people hunted in the previous hunting grounds of Heiwa and strike before they locate her presence.
She evened her tempo, unwilling to tire herself out too early.
From where she was, she could see the people of Hageshi still caught up in a state of shock from Shirou's display. It would be the last scene that they would see, and it wasn't because of Selka. Instead, with a speed almost indiscernible to the common eye, a blade flashed in and out, leaving tiny marks over the enemy's necks or exposed skin.
One cut was all it took for death to come.
A poisonous curse that did not distinguish between anyone.
Widening her eyes, Selka was just fast enough to notice Akame's figure blur out of focus, her sword clicking into its sheath as she moved on elsewhere.
It was like Akame was saying 'I'm better than you,' with how quickly she was taking down her targets and it irked Selka who took pride as the only woman Hunter in Heiwa. Moreover, there was saying in Heiwa where only the most capable got to decide their mates. Considering that she'd seen Akame by Shirou's side before, a part of her was subconsciously feeling threatened.
She didn't want to lose.
Gritting her teeth, Selka launched dirt into the air as she lunged forward, kicking off the ground and weaving in-between dense patches of bramble to reach her target. In a single motion, her hands moved to her thighs, unhooking the daggers Shirou had given her and holding them in a reverse grip.
The enemy hardly saw her coming.
The people of Heiwa had always been physically superior to all local residents of Wakoku, and the Hageshi were no exception. If not for the fact that the Heiwa were ambushed and were forced to contend against the Danger Beasts that the people of Hageshi had sent, then Heiwa would not have fallen so easily.
The dagger in her left hand cut into the enemy's arm, his body freezing up as paralysis set in before the dagger in her right hand cut through his throat.
The man she'd just killed wasn't alone, three others were around him. They stared at her in stupefaction before quickly composing themselves. They'd been through many conflicts and could quell their unease forcibly. The only reason that they had been caught off guard before was that they'd never seen anything quite like what Shirou had done.
In any case, they glared at Selka while readying their weapons, two swords and a metal spear that was hung over their backs.
"Die!" One of them yelled, thrusting forward with his sword.
In the past, the people of Hageshi had always been ill-equipped. Their weapons nothing more than primitive tools as they generally relied on their bodies to take down targets.
This time was different.
Selka's eyes traced the trajectory of the blade and her hands moved to intervene, the clanging of metal resounding as sparks illuminated her face. Pitted against her enemy's sword, the daggers Shirou had given her did more than just hold up against the enemy blade. It was slowly tearing through it. Any moment, the sword would snap, and her dagger would directly stab into the light leather armour of the enemy.
Noticing the danger their comrade was in, the other two people of Hageshi attacked. One moved to strike behind her while the other circled to her back.
Seeing a sword aimed straight for her throat, she used her free hand and batted it away while pushing off with her feet to evade the attack at her blind-spot; not that she needed to as a pillar of fire scorched the enemy into cinders.
She grinned, twisting out of sword lock and flipping backwards into the air. Torrents of different elements then engulfed her enemies as the rest of the Hunters of Heiwa caught up with her.
"Onward!" She yelled; a hand pointed forward.
The weapons Shirou had given to the people of Hageshi weren't just limited to her own. They came in several varieties that incorporated different ranges and abilities. Her daggers for example were for close proximity while the attack that had taken out the three people of Hageshi were from a sword that spewed forth flame.
Despite defeating her opponents, Selka did not let up. She was trying to keep count of how many enemies Akame defeated so that she knew how many she'd have to defeat. Unfortunately, in her earlier bout, Selka had long since lost track of Akame who made her way directly to the back line of Hageshi.
Akame was moving in the shadows, bypassing the common fodder and searching for someone of importance. In any army, the one that absolutely needed to die was the commander who organized the entire army.
To kill a beast or an army, one need only aim for its head. Anyone else who'd aim for the body was only an inexperienced fool who would waste the efforts of many.
The commander was who she was aiming for. Without the enemy leader gone, then no matter how damaged the rest of the army was, there was still a chance at recovery and reorganization. She would not let that happen.
Avoiding detection, she used the distraction that Selka and the people of Heiwa were causing to quietly sneak into her intended destination.
The people of Hageshi had come with roughly two-hundred people to besiege the Town at the Border. The main vanguard was supposed to have been the Mountain Shakers, but they were currently being occupied. This meant to say that the group from Hageshi were in a state of disarray from the failure of their plans.
It was the perfect condition for an assassin to take advantage of.
Spying at the enemy in front of her, Akame took careful note to look out for the most conspicuous appearing individual, or at the very least, someone who appeared to be in charge. The people of Hageshi weren't like the people of Heiwa who preferred wearing lighter beast-skins. Instead, they wore outfits that resembled that of brigands, wearing anything that they could get their hands on which was sufficient for defence.
It made Akame's task harder, but she was able to tell through experience just who was in command. All she had to do was trace back the line of sight of the common soldier. That individual who was being stared at the most was most likely her intended target.
Low and behold, her observations soon led her to stare at a man that stood at the rear of the army. His face was masked behind the head of a hunted animal, and the rest of his body was covered completely in tough leather armour.
There weren't many openings that she could exploit, and making her way towards the man would prove difficult unassisted. Being that Selka and the others had only just begun their attack, they would not be able to aide her anytime soon until they'd broken through the enemy front line.
She was going to have to go in alone.
Around fifty guards were around her target, all highly vigilant and carrying the best equipment in the army- full sets of armour and sharpened weapons gleaming under the light of the sun.
It wasn't going to be an easy kill, but with her skill, it was possible.
The only thing left for her to contemplate over, was a single question. Was it worth the risk?
Did she really have to put her life in danger to defend a town she'd only recently gotten to know?
It was a hard choice. The killer inside her could see no benefit in the situation, but the true part of her did not wish to see the Border Town or Shirou fall. Despite the bravado Shirou had displayed in taking on the four Danger Beasts, Akame could still distinctly recall Shirou's condition directly after he'd created the steel walls around the Border Town. Maybe just defeating the Mountain Shakers would exhaust him? He would then die if unprotected.
No.
It wasn't a sight she wanted to see. Not someone like him. The sort of individual who couldn't lie for shit to save his own life.
Murasame was steadily drawn from its sheath. She wasn't going to think too deeply about it anymore. All that mattered was that the enemy was before her eyes.
She was Akame of Night Raid, someone whose wanted poster had circulated throughout the entire Empire. She was by no means a weak individual. She was deadly.
In a burst of motion, she acted, pushing off from a tree and directly sprinting forward.
She needed to get rid of the guards around the commanding leader.
Still, someone else beat her to it.
The fact that Akame was wrong in her prediction of how long it would take Selka and the others to arrive was not something she deeply dwelled over.
Instead, a smirk played on her lips as Selka and the other Hunters of Heiwa suddenly appeared; the combination of the Mystic Codes that Shirou had Traced for them and their natural physical abilities, too much for the people of Hageshi to handle.
As Selka and the other Hunters of Heiwa directly cleared a path for Akame to take, Akame couldn't help but furrow her brows when she saw the way Selka was seriously staring at her. It was like she was being seen as some sort of rival with the look of victory on Selka's face.
"I win, he's mine."
Akame did not understand Selka's words nor did she choose to. She was just thankful that there were no guards that she'd have to deal with. One-on-one was her specialty.
Wasting no time, she lunged forward to attack her target, observing him for any moves that he would take. Unexpectedly, he just stood still, making her even more weary of a sudden counter.
She stopped just shy of six feet away from him. Far enough that she couldn't be reached by his sword, and close enough that she could strike him if he tried to run away. Her hands gripped Murasame in a horizontal grip, her legs spread into an open stance, ready to shift her weight at a moment's notice.
The man eyed her closely, but it was clear that most of his attention was still on Shirou in the distance, fighting against the Mountain Shakers.
She was being disregarded. At any other time, she may have attacked to prove a point, but she could see no fear in the man's expression when he had regarded her.
"You are Akame of Night Raid?" The man spoke absently despite the fact that his army of two-hundred was in the midst of a massacre.
She did not answer, trying to gauge what exactly the enemy commander was getting at.
"No matter," the man shook his head. "You wish to kill me so I will soon repay this debt by killing you."
Despite the man's threat, he made no move to attack her and instead narrowed his gaze in the distance. "How unfortunate though that I don't wish to waste my efforts. I did not foresee that such a powerful Teigu user existed in this quaint Town. A severe miscalculation."
Th man was gripping his fists so tightly, that Akame noticed small droplets of blood falling from his palms.
As if to insult her ability, the man even turned his back towards her. It would be a fatal mistake.
Her eyes grew cold, and in a single slash, she beheaded her enemy, yet still the voice continued.
"A blunder, a blunder indeed."
She watched as the body of the enemy commander faded into a smoke as if he'd never even existed. From how Murasame was reacting, she understood what was going on immediately. A Teigu user. She was fighting against a Teigu user whose ability seemed to allow him to project images of himself. Therefore, from the very beginning, the man commanding the army might not have been present at all. He was probably watching from somewhere, observing hoe the battle would play out.
With their commander seemingly killed, Selka and the others had no trouble defeating the rest of the people of Hageshi.
The only one left fighting was Shirou.
Ig-Alima had lodged itself firmly into the ground after its initial strike. The towering sword was so heavy that from the moment it made contact with the earth, an abyss like crevice was produced with violent tremors.
The four Mountain Shakers were rendered groggy, injured, and disorientated after the opening strike. However, they still posed a significant danger. Panicked, the entire group of them began attacking in all directions, their size alone toppling trees and crushing everything.
It was to the point where Elaine and the others from the Border Town were forced to retreat and simply wait for Shirou's return. Many would act like nothing had happened, but Elaine would look at Shirou's strangely for the next few weeks after the battle resolved.
In any case, as Shirou stared at the four massive Danger Beasts rampaging in front of him, he looked to Ig-Alima and considered his options. With one swing, he'd cleaved off the mountains that seemingly sprouted from the backs of the Danger Beasts, reducing their size by half, yet they weren't incapacitated. He should have aimed for their heads, but he had wanted to catch all of them and gather them in one location. To that end, his goal was met.
In a single motion, he dismissed Ig-Alima, the giant construct fading away into mots of glowing light. It was simply impractical to continue using it as he could not readily lift it off the ground.
From where he stood, he could see that Akame and Selka had completed their objectives, therefore, it was just him that needed to finish his part.
Nuke them? Strike them? He considered his options in regards to the injured Mountain Shakers, but it hardly mattered. Efficiency was best in a world where he could not readily replenish his energy.
Ig-Alima had taken more out of him than he had thought, which goes to show how much effort it generally took to Trace a copy of something that was akin to a Divine Construct. He was panting, his reserves fairly low, but his spirits high as he stared at the Danger Beasts in front of him like a Mountain of Gold. So what if he ran out of energy? He could replenish himself afterwards. What mattered now was using what little he had left to conclude the battle.
His arms extended in front of him, grabbing at the air as tendrils of blue lightning erupted over the ground. "Trace, On."
He invoked an incantation, summoning a bow and an arrow which he heavily flooded with all his remaining magical power and more. A Noble Phantasm produced in such a manor was aptly called a 'Broken Phantasm.'
The sword that appeared was spiraled, and twisted, the rampant energy breaking the sword apart. Bands of energy held the general shape of the sword in place, and as he nocked the sword over his bow, the air itself began to distort.
It was a sword of the Rainbow.
Flooded with power and broken, it incorporated the truest aspect of its Legend and became a sword of light shining amidst the splendor of battle.
It was blinding. The beacon where all turned to stare.
As the prototype of many weapons, it was a magic sword with relations to even Excalibur Galatine, the sword of the Sun. Ripples formed in space, distortions that seemed on the verge of breaking reality.
To Selka and the people of Heiwa, the sight wasn't just a Teigu or a mere arrow, it was a scene of liberation. The embodiment of the God of Light that they worshipped in nature and a weapon of the Divine.
Light would pierce through the dark, illuminating the skies.
"Soar," his knees bent, his arms outstretched.
A shimmer stretching forth to reveal the rainbow.
"Caladbolg!"
The world exploded, the shockwave itself uprooting the nearby trees and foliage as the bowstring released. Shirou was no exception as he was blown back like a ragdoll, utterly out of power as the light of his attack expanded to resemble a shooting star.
Gathered together, and utterly unable to avoid the attack due their size, the Mountain Shakers could only roar in grief as the arrow pierced directly through them all. Space itself twisted, rendering all defences that the Danger Beasts put up to be useless.
By the time the attack dissipated, only unmoving remains were left.
The man watching the events unfold in the distance could not believe what he'd just seen. The importance, he'd placed on Shirou increased significantly, but the man would not risk an encounter just yet. In a single motion, he retreated back in the direction of Hageshi. Preparations needed to be made.
Meanwhile, Shirou himself was left at a loss. He was expecting pain when he was launched back by the recoil of his own attack, but contrary to his expectations, he'd been caught.
He looked up, just in time to see Akame's neutral expression and that was all that he needed to see before completely relaxing much to Akame's inner turmoil.
Again. He was doing it again.
No matter how Akame tried to reason with herself, she couldn't understand how Shirou could trust his life to her so easily when he wasn't even certain if she was truly a friend or foe.
"Idiot," the words left her lips before she realized her actions.
Shirou looked up at her, but she pretended as if she couldn't see him. Besides, he was already looking awfully tired, similar to his state in the past. His complexion was somewhat pale, and he seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes open. Did she need to bring him back to his Healing center? She contemplated the matter thoroughly, but was unable to take action as Selka and the Hunters quickly surrounded her, smiles on their faces.
The battle was over, and to her credit, Akame was able to maintain the neutrality of her face despite her inner turmoil. A shudder was making its way down her back, watching the way Selka and the Hunters of Heiwa paraded an exhausted Shirou up and down into the air as if he was some sort of exotic animal. Worse, she wasn't being excluded despite how small she was making herself appear.
The flush making its way up her face was clearly not due to her embarrassment at participating in such an event but because she couldn't control how fast her heart was beating and furiously pumping blood through her body. Better yet, it was most likely the result of an after-workout state instead of her being no longer accustomed to joyous activities.
Death, killing, and targets, that was all that her life had always accounted for after her parents had sold her off, and it was something that she never believed would change. Which was why, she was gradually growing flustered, unable to determine the emotion for what it was and believing it to be something else.
The number of times she'd caught herself inching her hand towards her sword in a bid to flee were too many to count, but her role in assassinating the enemy commander couldn't be left unaccounted for. She'd saved just as many lives as the enemy commander could have had killed, making her contributions highly significant.
The people of Heiwa were physically strong, their livelihoods made off of hunting beasts and animals. Once in their clutches, even someone as agile as Akame was left helpless given her self restrictions. She could not kill them just for sharing their enthusiasm after all, and besides, the smile subconsciously working its way up her face was a clear sign of how infectious the current atmosphere was.
The people of Heiwa would not release her until they'd shown their appreciation and that was the same for Shirou who simply decided to pass out from his exertion. He was already tired from pushing himself in the earlier conflict and all he'd wanted to do was replenish his energy as fast as possible. However, his efforts were thwarted from the beginning as he was quickly carried away, a hand still uselessly trying to reach towards the bodies of the Mountain Shakers.
He'd passed out then and there, leaving only Akame to cope with the situation.
By the time Akame had escaped, it was already in the late afternoon inside the area of the Border Town where the people of Heiwa had set up residence. She was panting for breath, her face so red that steam could have been wafting off of her. Her current attire matched the standards of the women of Heiwa, loose garments of soft fur that looked more like underwear than actual clothing. Her naval and legs were entirely exposed while ankle and wrist bracelets lined with feathers were placed around her hands and feet. The women and men in Heiwa dressed in such a way to show off their toned physiques. As a tribe of Hunters, the healthier an individual appeared the more attractive they were to members of the opposite sex. This was the same for both the women and men. Shirou for instance was clothed only in a fur kilt, his upper body and lower legs exposed.
Akame and Shirou had been changed into the formal wear of the people of Heiwa to celebrate their victory through a traditional dance following which came the festivities.
Akame however, was unaccustomed to wearing so little clothing and beat back a hasty retreat like a startled cat bolting away from water. She felt no remorse leaving Shirou behind. He was still unconscious anyway and laid down to rest over Selka's lap while the other women of Heiwa looked at him curiously. Of particular note, Selka spent most of the entire celebration trying to shoo and hiss away her fellow peers from Shirou, much like a wild-cat guarding their cubs.
Akame didn't care at the moment. Instead, her expression darkened when she couldn't find her original clothing and realized she'd have to continue wearing her current attire. Rather than panic, she did the next best thing and 'borrowed' a random coat that was left hanging to dry on line of wire outside the house of an individual. She promptly left thereafter with a particular destination in mind.
Don't get her wrong. Just because she had helped to defend the Border Town didn't mean that she'd forgotten her original assignment. She had been within the Border Town for several days, reaching almost two weeks in total. As a professional assassin, she'd long since found her target in the given time-frame.
Her feet carried her forward, not a sound to be heard as she displaced the gravel beneath her which soon became a fine sand the closer that she came to her destination. She was heading towards the banks of a small yet tranquil lake that the residents of the Border Town primarily drew their fresh water from. It was also the source of their fish and dried goods which were salted and left to dry in the heat of the sun.
The lake shore was lined with many racks belonging to different fishermen who'd secure their catch and leave them out for the Border Towns administrative to collect. Food was scarce the further away from the Empire's capital one lived at and the Border Town was no exception to this rule. The fish captured by fishermen were turned into the Border Town council where the food would be equally distributed to feed the hungry.
The fishermen gave their fish, and in return they received wheat and bread from the other occupants in the town. In times of hunger and famine, the best way to survive was not to stick by oneself, but to rely on a collective.
She'd seen the same system once before in her days living in the nations of Wakoku where she was once left stranded. Her eyes dimmed when she recalled the memory.
Too many good people in her life had died for reasons that she could hardly accept. That was why she could not stand how corrupt the world had become.
"Then do you not want to change it?" Najenda's words echoed in her mind. It was Najenda who had convinced her to defect from the Empire's Assassination unit which had forced her to be as cold-blooded as she currently was.
At the same time as she mulled over Najenda's words, so too did another set of words rise from within her. Words filled with a type of conviction that could sway the heart with their certainty.
"It's not wrong to help others."
"People are only placed into their situations through circumstance. It doesn't mean that they can't change. You need only look at yourself."
The grip she had over her sword tightened, still unable to comprehend how Shirou seemed to be able to so clearly see through her. He had only glanced once at both her, and the sword in her hand before he stared at her in what looked to be 'understanding,' and sympathy. It was like he knew her experiences. No one had ever looked at her with such an expression, and yet still he had the ability to fully trust her.
There were many times where she could have struck him down with how careless he was being by daring to show his back towards a person he wasn't fully certain was friend or foe. Yet he'd done so anyway.
He did not possess Najenda's passive charisma or confident demeanor, but instead, what he had was something far different. He didn't fight for the reason of putting an end to the Empire's treachery, but for the sole cause of saving those in front of him. Trust, empathy, selflessness, he was a person who did not hesitate to put his life at stake for a group of people like Selka whom he did not even know prior.
Then what about her?
Even if he wasn't being direct about it, why did it appear as if he was trying to save her? To prove to her that the things that she'd once believed in her own ignorance could possibly be true?
The thought gave her pause, but she couldn't contemplate any longer. She'd spotted her target, Edwin Pollus, just slightly away from the lake's shore.
She maneuvered around the area, stopping only when her back was placed against a tree ten meters away. In a single motion, she lowered her center of gravity and discreetly tilted her head off to the side to observe the enemy's movements.
She froze moments after doing so.
"Hey baldy! That wasn't fair. You said you wouldn't move!" It was a familiar voice. One that she'd gotten used to hearing in her time observing Shirou in his home. "You didn't move against Anna but you moved for me? You're a cheater!"
She looked again, and sure enough, she spotted the tiny figures of Shirou's siblings glaring at Edwin Pollus who held a wooden sword lightly in his left hand. From the looks of the situation, Edwin Pollus was actually teaching Artus and Anna the way of the sword.
"I did not say I would not move, now did I?" Edwin countered, ignoring the way Artus insulted him. He was in fact nowhere near bald. Instead, he had a full head of hair which he had combed to the side to not interfere with his line of sight.
"B-But you didn't move for Anna," Artus stuttered as he complained, feeling wronged.
Both Artus and Anna had started out apprehensive of Edwin due to the way their father had once warned them to stay away from the man, but times had changed. They had found Edwin taking up the life of a fisherman by the lake and in their curiosity as children had approached him after ditching Elaine. To be fair, their first meeting had the two children poking Edwin with the two wooden swords Shirou had given them as gifts and it didn't lead to much else. It was only after the two kept coming that Edwin reigned himself to his fate.
"Is the fact that you got me to move not something to be proud of?" Edwin was patient. As a man that had served in the army, he would not be affected by a child's whining. Instead, without any further talk, he struck out with his wooden sword and forced both Artus and Anna to retreat while blocking.
There was no use for words in order for one to accumulate experience, especially when young.
The sound of swords clattering together was the only noise Akame could now hear where she remained hidden behind the tree. Inwardly, she was conflicted. This was her best chance to strike. No matter how she saw it, Edwin's interaction with Artus and Anna was dulling his sense of awareness. All it would take was a single cut and then she could flee and never return to the oddness that was the Border Town ever again.
However, she couldn't do it.
The strength she had in her arms slowly left her, leaving behind only a thumb to run over the pommel of her sword's hilt.
From the reports she had read and memorized, Edwin should have been a cold-blooded man who wouldn't hesitate to send someone to their deaths to complete a mission. What she was seeing instead was a cranky middle-aged individual who despite being annoyed took the time to teach and look after the children of his former general.
The man described in her intel had already 'died,' Akame was sure of it. This wasn't the same individual that she had been tasked to kill at all. Hard as it was to believe, Edwin Pollus had indeed changed, and the only person she could think of that could have been the cause, was Shirou. Someone that she herself was still confused in how to categorize.
Shirou was an individual that could change everything.
To him, there was no Empire or Revolutionary Army, only those that needed saving and a safe place to live. That was the Border Town. The settlement that existed on the edge where it was possible to avoid all conflict.
An image was gradually taking shape in her mind. The disappearance of Raiga and the Mountain Bandits, the sheer number of high-profile individuals in the town around her; the Empire had not dealt with them as the Minister had claimed, but had instead lost track of them.
She couldn't help but think that if the Empire and the other Nations could be just like the Border Town, then all conflicts would eventually end. The world did not need some treacherous Minister or ambitious revolutionists. It needed someone like Shirou who never put himself before others.
Before she even realized what had happened, she had left Edwin behind and had made her way back to a cave that she'd been occupying in her time within the Border Town. It was small, sparsely furnished, and possessed an earthly smell of granite. The only objects in the room were a bed roll that she'd used to sleep on, and the remains of a small fire she'd put out before leaving. She didn't bother with either of them and instead moved to empty the contents of her bag which she had left near the camp fire.
Numerous pieces of bound paper, ink, and writing utensils clattered against the hard ground.
They were the reports and letters that Akame should have been sending back to Najenda but had never been able to send. Most of them were piled in untidy stacks, with many lined with crinkles and creases from how hard she'd hesitated pondering over them.
If it was him, he could do it.
To change the way that the world worked. A place without lies.
Even though he didn't seem to have any ambition, even though all he wanted was to keep those in front of him safe, she could already picture the extent of what he'd do when others would eventually call out to him for help.
He would not hesitate to act.
She shut her eyes, her thumb unhooking the latch over her sheath.
The reports and observations that she'd made, she would not send them.
It wasn't that she didn't trust her comrades in Night Raid, but the fact that Night Raid was a faction under the Revolutionary Army made all the difference. Should the army discover Shirou's ability to create new Teigu or even that fact that he was a formidable Teigu user himself, then there was no way the Revolutionary Army would leave him alone.
It was simply too dangerous and not something that she wanted to see.
Najenda had convinced her to fight to change the corruption running rampant in the world, but Shirou had taught her what it meant to trust in others. At this moment, she chose to believe in a path that she never thought would ever work. To trust in his values that were once her own before she had changed.
Just as Edwin Pollus of the Army had 'died,' Akame of Night Raid had undergone a similar transformation.
In a flash of silver, the detailed documents before her were reduced to countless strips of paper that burned to ashes amidst the crackling of a freshly lit flame.
Najenda and the others would definitely come to find her, and when they did, she would do her best to convince them.
The hope that she'd found in a place where all hope seemed to be lost, was not something that she wished to give up on anymore.
She was no longer just Akame of Night Raid, but Akame of the Town at the Border, Calla.
A town named after a flower of new beginnings.