Akame Ga Kill - Split The Earth In Two, Quake

Chapter Five: The Ripper

It's late at night and Leone and Minazuki are walking the trails where the Ripper is said to strike most frequently. They're searching for any sign of them, but there doesn't seem to be any. "Man, this Ripper really takes their time. We've been out here for hours and haven't seen anything.", Leone says in a disappointed tone. Minazuki ignores her for the moment while reading about the Imperial Arm he believes might be the one the Ripper is using: Drink Them Dry, Meno. It's a dagger Imperial Arm that has the power to drain its victims of their blood and use it as an extension of the Imperial Arm itself. There isn't much else in the journal about it and it even says that Shoryu only saw it used once by a novice who died instantly from Murasame's curse. "Other than that this Imperial Arm is likely a dagger and it uses blood as a weapon, we know nothing. We'll have to stay on our toes at all time.", Minazuki says before turning to see Leone snacking. She turns to see him watching her stuff her face before swallowing and saying, "Alright, on guard, right." They both sense murderous intent radiating from a nearby bush and turn to face it. "The Ripper? Finally, it took forever but-", Leone begins to think as she turns into her beast form before a giant snake lunges out from the bush at Minazuki. Minazuki doesn't even flinch as he pierces the snake's entire body with spears, stopping it just an inch before it could bite into his throat. Leone sighs and says, "Man, it was just another danger beast. I thought for a second that it was the Ripper finally making their move, but I'm disappointed yet again.", before releasing her beast form. She then thinks to herself, "This Minazuki guy, he didn't even release the slightest amount of murderous intent with that attack.... What even is he?" The earth spears then retract into the ground as a hole forms to bury the corpse in. He covers the hole with dirt with just a wave of his hand before starting to move on, nearly leaving Leone behind. "Try not to fall too far behind.", Minazuki says coldly as he walks ahead of her. She quickly catches up to him before saying, "I'm guessing you're not used to the whole teamwork thing yet, right?" He seems to ignore her and she says, "Well, most Imperial Arm users are pretty tough, so we'll need to make sure that we're somewhat in sync." She looks around and can't seem to sense anyone else nearby before saying, "Maybe we should split up? We'll cover more ground that way." "Are you sure that's a good idea? Didn't the Boss tell you to observe me and gather data?", Minazuki asks. Leone blows him off and says, "Eh, I suck at doing reports and she knows it. If she really wanted to test your skill, she'd pit you against Bulat in the training yard and watch herself." He glances over to her when she says this before turning back to the road and saying, "Very well then, I'll head off this way. If you encounter the enemy, be sure to not get cut. Even a small cut from that blade can be your downfall." Before they can split up though, he senses something approaching from the woods. It's fast, so fast in fact that he can't see what they look like through Quake's sixth sense alone. "Somethings coming, and fast. Be on your toes!", Minazuki says as he gets into his battle stance. "What is it? The killer!?", Leone asks with slight excitement as she transforms into her beast mode again. "It might be. They're circling us.", Minazuki says as he senses them keep circling them as if they were prey. And as he says this, a red flash goes by him. It tries to slice at him as it rushes by, but he blocks the attack with Quake. "They're fast. Is this the power boost from the Imperial Arm?", Minazuki thinks as he prepares to block any other attacks that may come. He watches the red blur rush by him again, this time they didn't attempt an attack. Leone then throws a punch at the blur, trying to catch it before it can be any real trouble, but they just dodge under her attack and head under her arm to counter attack. "An opening~", they hear a feminine voice say as they both see the sharp, tooth like blade about to cut Leone's stomach wide open. Minazuki quickly shifts the ground under Leone's feet, moving her out of the way, while setting up a counter attack on the killer. "W-what?", the voice says as she sees Minazuki coming full force at her. Minazuki's fist connects with the blade and she's sent flying back with remarkable force. The Ripper crashes through multiple trees before finally coming to a stop. After her back hits the last tree, she slides down it and lands on her hands and knees, with her Imperial Arm still in her hand. They check to see if their target is still alive and see that they're in fact, still breathing, and laughing at them. "Mister, I don't know who you are, but you're fun! More! MORE! GIVE ME MORE FUN!!!", the Ripper shouts as she lifts her head up and they can finally get a good look at her face. They look to see that the Ripper, the crazed serial killer who's killed so many people, is really a little girl, about seven to eight years old. "Sorry kid, but your killing spree ends here.", Leone says as she prepares to punch the girl. The girl just starts laughing uncontrollably before saying, "You won't stop my fun! Nobody will! I'll keep slashing and cutting just like he tells me to, right, Meno?" The girl begins to be enveloped by an ominous aura as she slashes at Leone. Leone manages to dodge her attack, but only by a hair. "This isn't right. Something's, off.", Minazuki begins to think as he sees that the source of the murderous intent coming from the girl's body isn't her at all, rather, it's the blade. "Meno, it's the source?", Minazuki mumbles to himself before the girl tries to slash at Leone again, this time nicking her arm. As a bit of blood drips from her wound, the girl gets an evil smile across her face before saying, "It's all over for you kitty! Your blood is all mine! I'm gonna rip you apart and play with your organs." "I'll use my Trump Card now and tear that pussy cat to pieces, then I'll slice that strong guy up real good. That's what you want me to do, right, Meno?", she thinks to herself with a crazed look in her eye as the blade itself begins to glow ominously. Minazuki sees this as his only opening and as she's about to use her Trump Card to rip Leone to pieces, he punches the girl full force right on the hand she was using to hold Meno. Every bone in that hand shatters almost instantly from the sheer force of the impact before the after effects suddenly kick in and her fingers are sent flying off her hand. The girl screams out in pain before shouting, "You meanie! I'll kill you for this!! Meno, where are you!?!" She looks around desperately for her Imperial Arm, but before she can find it, she finds a earth spear's been lodged in her eye socket. She doesn't have any time to say any last words or to curse Minazuki and Leone, before sliding down the spear, sending the tip out the back of her skull.