(DISCONTINUED) Night Raid's Joker (Akame ga Kill x Persona 5)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Adjusting

"I'll have to refuse your offer."

My response sparked various reactions. "Boss" and Bulat raised their eyebrows, Leone and Lubbock simply smiled, Akame remained stoic, Mine smirked, while Tatsumi looked at me in shock.

"Ren?! Why would you refuse?!" Tatsumi asked, a look of betrayal crossing his face. I gave him a quizzical look, before sighing.

"Look, I can see the corruption as much as you can. It disgusts me. But what can I do? I'm not a fighter." I lied. I can't just tell him that I can travel to another dimension to fight, now can I?

"But you jumped out a damn window and made that speech!" Tatsumi exclaimed, clenching his fist. I was about to respond, before suddenly the sound of something spinning caught my attention. It was barely noticeable, but I could hear It coming from Lubbock. Turning to him, he looked in shock at his glove, which had a wheel attachment that was currently spinning wildly. With my Third Eye, I can see that there's a number of string or wires connected to it, and it's the same string that's surrounding the entire base. If that thing is basically a border, then that means...

"N-No way! Najenda-san! We got intruders!" He cried out, making everyone's eyes widen. Najenda is "Boss'" name, huh? I wonder if everyone calls her Najenda or if it's just Lubbock.

"How many and where?" She demanded, her expression hardening.

"With how my barrier's reacting, there's eight of them! They've all infiltrated the hideout grounds!" He informed her, panicking. I turned to Najenda.

"For a hideout, it was found very quickly." I muttered, raising my eyebrow. Najenda chuckled wryly, taking out a cigarette and putting it in her mouth.

"They're good, being able to find us. Probably mercenaries from the tribes." She muttered, lighting her cigarette. "No matter. Emergency dispatch. Make sure no one's left alive."

And with that, the air suddenly changed, and the expressions of everyone in the room became hardened and grim. Being used to this sort of pressure, I had no reaction, while Tatsumi's gaze became uncomfortable. Narrowing my eyes while rubbing Morgana's chin, who was currently on my shoulder, I watched as everyone besides Tatsumi and Najenda dashed out of the room at Najenda's command, ready to intercept the intruders. Sighing, I watched in silence as Najenda pushed Tatsumi out of the room, sending him off to his first battle in Night Raid. When the room was only occupied by Najenda, myself, and Morgana, she turned to me.

"If I may ask, why did you refuse?" Najenda asked me, and I took off my mask, revealing my features to her. She's the best person to trust in this place, and even though I'm not an assassin, I'll be staying ere for a while, so it's only fitting to show my new boss my face.

"Why did you let Tatsumi join?" I asked, making her think a little bit.

"Because he's seen the corruption of the Empire. That's what drives him to end that corruption. So I let him join us like minded individuals." She answered. She's not wrong. I've seen it too, and it's completely disgusting.

"Yes, that's true. I think the same, that the corruption needs to end." I agreed, putting my prop glasses on. It's become a habit, lately, for me to put my glasses on when I'm trying to look normal and inconspicuous. This was one of those times.

"So why didn't you join?" She repeated.

"There's another reason you let Tatsumi in: he has the capacity to kill. I saw it with my own eyes as well. he really does want to kill your target for what they did to his friends. Plus, he can use a sword." I explained while Najenda listened silently. "I, meanwhile, don't have the capacity to kill. What I did yesterday was nothing but skills I developed to survive and for theatrics. I have no fighting ability whatsoever."

Morgana looked at me questionably, while Najenda nodded. My charm is strong enough to be able to lie with ease, even in front of someone who is a battle-hardened assassin. I wish to keep my abilities a secret for now, and do my job from the shadows.

"I see...I understand your situation. Like I said earlier, we can't let you live. We'll have you work as a staff of the base for now. As long as you behave and do your job, you'll be fine." Najenda compromised. Nodding in response, I sighed, wondering how the others were doing. Looks like I'll be staying in the base from now on. I'll have to form a plan later if I'm going to end the corruption without getting myself killed. I've brought down many. Corrupt politicians, a mafia boss, a pedophilic teacher, but I've never killed a man.

But in this world, that fact may have to change.

. . .

"So your plan is to lay low for now, ad use Night Raid as protection?"

"That's the plan. There's nowhere really safe to go at the moment, so the assassins who are also trying to end the corruption are my best bet."

Walking in the halls of the base with Morgana talking to me on my shoulder, I continued to get a better lay of the land. I'll need to find places I can go if I want privacy, after all. Apparently, I can enter the Metaverse from anywhere, including the base. After my talk with Najenda, I had tested to see if I can go to Mementos from here, and apparently I can. I can use this to my advantage in the future, but I'd need to be careful that no one from Night Raid would catch me entering the Metaverse.

"It's for the best, but we'll need to plan ahead. We're dealing with people who can kill us easily. Watch yourself, Akira." Morgana warned, making me nod in agreement. In the Metaverse, I'm powerful, but in reality, I'm weak.

Suddenly, I felt someone grab my shoulder, so I turned around, almost tempted to put an imaginary gun to their head. I relaxed when I found it was Lubbock.

"Yes?" I greeted, readjusting the mask on my face. The only one I can currently reveal to my face is Najenda, not like this mask covers much. But it gives me comfort having some mystique at the moment.

"We're partying outside! Come on! Come join us! Assassin or not, you should still come with!" Lubbock invited. He really does remind of Ryuji...

"...Alright. I'll come." I stated, letting Lubbock lead me to the small celebration. It had turned night pretty quickly, and bottles of bear and whiskey lined the table. Leone greeted me with a smile, waving me over. Bulat winked at me while holding a large mug, preparing to chug it. Mine simply scoffed and looked away, while Akame was eating a large drumstick again. Tatsumi looked sad with Najenda seemingly scolding him.

"Masky~! Hiiii~!" Leone purred, waving at me furiously with a deep blush on her face. Her scent gives away the fact that she's totally drunk again...

"Hey, Leone." I greeted, nodding at her. I looked over at Tatsumi. "What did he do?"

"He failed to deliver the finishing blow..." Akame spoke up, taking a bite out of her drumstick.

"Hesitation, huh? Something like that will get him killed..." I muttered. He did the same with Aria, when she had her change of heart. I wonder if one of the intruders pulled an act similar to that, making Tatsumi pity him. He needs to toss away that hesitation.

"You know a lot about battle for someone who says he's not a fighter, aren't you?" Bulat pointed out, making me chuckle in response.

"In a world like this, not being able to see something through can mean the end. It's just something I picked up to survive." I stated. I'm not lying, since my world was like that as well, all the corruption and distortion. If I died in a Palace, I died in reality too. I couldn't afford to make mistakes like that. Suddenly, I felt Lubbock's arm wrap around my shoulder, drawing my attention to him.

"Let's not worry about that! C'mon! Let's party for the new guys!" He yelled, raising a glass. I sweat dropped, laughing nervously before grabbing a mug off the table. Can I even drink this...? Actually, Lubbock looks younger than me, and he's drinking. In a world like this, I don't think being underage matters...Still, I probably shouldn't. There's no telling what I'll do I go black out drunk.

I watched as Bulat chugged an entire pint in one gulp, Leone cheering him on while Lubbock was hunched over on the ground pathetically. Is he one of those depressed drinkers? Eventually, Bulat was so drunk that he started taking off his shirt, Leone still cheering him on while Mine swiftly protested. Quietly dumping my drink into a bush, I decided to listen in on Najenda's conversation with Tatsumi. Apparently, Tatsumi would be working with Akame from now on, so a repeat of earlier wouldn't happen again. Much to Tatsumi's despair, Akame agreed, under the conditions that she kill him if he holds her back. Harsh...

"That's right, Ren!" Najenda called, making me turn my head to her. Gesturing for her to continue, she pointed at Akame, with, "I'll have you train alongside Tatsumi as well. You're not an assassin, but you'll still need to learn the ropes as staff here."

I nodded in agreement, turning in for the night. Or so it looked like. When I was sure everyone was in bed with Third Eye, I quickly got out of bed, changing into my casual clothes. By chance, if anyone was awake at this time, I'll just say that I couldn't sleep, and went stargazing instead. After all, when it looks like you're staring into empty space, that's the only thing you really can say. Morgana followed, as we exited the base.

And there, we were greeted with the familiar sight of a blue prison cell door, emitting a blue fog while slightly transparent. The familiar girl stood in front of said door, before noticing us, and smiling brightly.