-- Night Raid Hideout --

 

A group of individuals sat outside in the brisk cold of the evening wind. Tonight, these seemingly harmless children and young adults were going to be officially inducted into a group called Night Raid, an assassination squad part of the Revolutionary Army. Everyone of these people were also told that they were going that certain "preparations" needed to be made in order for them to officially join. What these preparations were, nobody knew; the group was just told to wait outside Night Raid's hideout and wait for instructions. All of them had been waiting for at least ten minutes now...

 

One of these individuals, a young and well built man with tan skin, blue hair, and strangly, an old branding iron strapped to his back with a rope, was actually fine with the wait. He was very interested in joining Night Raid, of course, but just not impatient to join. He preferred to take things slowly anyway.

 

The boy, named Seelo, standing with his hands in his pockets and chewing on the straw in his mouth, looked around the area, eyeing the others that were with him. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, so he really did not have it in himself to start talking to them. Considering their strange wear and looks, Seelo could tell they probably never lived on a farm either, like he did.

 

Man... buncha of colorful characters that I'm hangin' 'round... I wonder what they're like... Seelo thought to himself, his country boy tone deep set in the words he spoke in his head. If anythang, they're probably pretty good at fightin', like I am, 'r else they wouldn't be here lookin' to be a killer for these Night Raid folks...

Edited February 10, 20169 yr by Firaga Sensei

Elektra stared in awe. "(Imperial...Arm?)" Elektra thought. The mention of the word seemed familiar. Maybe in a book, or have overheard it somewhere from someone. Regardless, from what she said there was a possibility that they might get one, if they are able to prove themselves that is. "Well then...this means that I will have to push myself further than I already am." Elektra muttered to herself. She looked up at Mine. "Well then, bring it on. What's next?!" Elektra asked, now inspired to do her best times double.

"So, that's an Imperial Arm..." Kotetsu muttered as he studied the gun. He'd heard of them being mentioned while in the Revolution Army, but he'd never seen one in person. "What kind would we get? I mean, if we manage to get through training." Kotetsu asked, curious about what he'd be able to use. If the Pumpkin was as powerful and accurate as Mine had demonstrated, the others must have also been powerful.

Mine / Seelo

 

"That depends if you live long enough to pick one out... or you know, we might give you an old hand-me-down from a storage unit at one of the Revolutionary Army's camps," Mine teased. "Anyways, wait outside here. Your next exercise is going to be led by somebody else," Mine instructed, making her way towards the HQ.

 

"Waiting, huh? How do we know we're not just gonna get blasted at again?" Seelo asked his comrades as soon as Mine left.

"Well... We're at the headquarters now. I doubt they'd pull an attack so close to their own base." Kotetsu said, although he was nervous about another volley of shots from the Pumpkin as well. "I wonder who's going to be training us next...? Hopefully we won't be chased around as much as we just were." He said, hoping for something a bit more simple. Even a sparring match would be better in his eyes.

Elektra thought about it. "Well if she does think of trying to blast us again, at least we have an idea to look out for her, right?" Elektra said, considering they didn't knew the explosives were aimed and shot at from a distance. If Mine tried again she could try to track her down by following the projectiles and stop her. Maybe. "But unless she wants of waste the rest of her day with us, I don't see her doing it again, at least not after a while until our guard is down." Elektra commented. She also thought about what Kotetsu had asked about what kind of imperial arm they would get. "Hey, think we would have an imperial arm that will fit our fighting style or we will have to adapt our fighting style to the imperial arm?"

Seelo / Leone

 

"Well, I'm a boxer, so I wouldn't mind a couple of new fangled gloves or sumthin' like that," Seelo said. "I ain't no push over neither. I've been practicing since I was a yung-'n. Check it out!" Seelo said, suddenly putting himself into a stance and doing some shadow boxing. Not only was he doing this to show off for Elektra and Kotetsu, but also because it was a way of focusing himself, and he would need it for the next trial.

 

"Ha! Hoo! Whoo!" Seelo said, punching the air and backing up. "I"m pretty good huh?!" He said, but lost his footing and tripped backwards. "Uh, whoa!" He said, falling back, only to fall back on something soft.

 

"Huh, what?" Seelo felt the weight he was leaning against. His head felt like it was laying on a pillow...

 

"Well, hello there, little man," said a voice from behind, spooking Seelo and causing him to fall forward.

 

Leone, the "weight", laughed at Seelo's blunder. "Looks like you're full of energy! You're gonna need that for the next challenge!" 

 

"U-uh uh, thanks... I guess..." Seelo said in his typical nervous drawl.

Edited April 14, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

Kotetsu sighed. I feel bad for Seelo, but he kind of walks into these situations... He straightened up quickly, now that their superior was in the room with them. "You're leading our next test, then? What is it?" He asked Leone, sounding somewhat nervous. He wasn't concerned about the test as much as he was by Leone's typical act. He was glad Seelo was taking that responsibility for him.

Elektra watched in awe and clapped at Seelo's shadow boxing. "Amazing!" Elektra said with a smile, only to watch Seelo fall into Leone's boobs and then quickly dart away from them. Similar to a mouse from a snake, in Elektra's eyes at least. "(Again, there is fear. What is it that makes him change so drastically?)" Elektra thought as she looked over at Leone in mystery. "(Maybe...her boobs are her Imperial Arms?!)" Elektra thought, before shaking her head and the thought away with it. No. Focus. "(No...but there must be some sort of power behind them.)" Elektra thought. She would have to investigate it later. RIght now there was most likely another test, another trial, and heaven knows what kind it will be. "What Kotetsu said. What would our next trial be under your watchful eye?" Elektra asked with hopeful eyes. Hopefully Leona wouldn't have an explosive idea such as Mine's. She could use without explosions for at least thirty minutes.

Leone / Seelo

 

"I'm glad you asked. For your next exercise, you're going to accompany me into town and do an errand," Leone said.

 

"Wait, really? Just an errand?" Seelo asked.

 

"Well, sort of. Don't worry, it definitely won't be boring. Now then, follow me," Leone said, leading the trio into the nearby Imperial City, taking an alternate route through the forest.

 

Whatever this errand is, I hope it involves some more action and less, uh, runnin' around. I might even get to use my iron too, Seelo thought, the shadow boxing he did earlier pumping him up a little bit.

"... That's it?" Kotetsu looked surprised, and somewhat irritated. He didn't want to be chased around again, but going to do some errands didn't exactly sound like a way he could prove his skill. "Alright... I guess I can't really argue with you." Just being around her is difficult enough... Kotetsu sighed, and followed Leone to the Imperial City. I just want a chance to show my combat skill...

Elektra was surprised by the fact that they were going for errands. Maybe errands was a secret word for combat training? Possibly. The only errands she knew of were those of shop around for things in the shopping district of the city. Her mother used to do that a lot with her siblings. Elektra followed Leone along with the group, quickly standing right behind Leone. "Miss...Leone, was it, right?" Elektra asked, hoping to get the name right. "You said you needed help in some errands. You mean as in food, supplies, or clothing? Oh! Are you going on an errand for a dress?" Elektra asked, now trying to picture Leone in a dress. She wouldn't look half bad. "Or is errands a top secret word for training?"

Leone / Seelo

 

"Just you wait until we get to the city," Leone responded.

 

All the talkin' always has to come later, don't it? Seelo thought to himself.

 

-- Capital City --

 

The group made their way into the center of the Empire: Capital City, which was bustling with activity with its various shops and bureaus as well as the local civilians who were going through the motions of their everyday lives.

 

"Well, this brings back some memories..." Seelo said aloud, observing the scenery.

 

"It does?" Leone asked.

 

"Uh, yeah. Ya see, before I joined up with the Army, I used to live here in the Capital City. Well, sort of anyway. I didn't really have a house or nothing, I just bummed around on the streets. Still, I pretty much got this place all scoped out. I traveled mighty quickly through the area and whatnot."

 

"Well, that's good. Then I'm sure you know about the massage parlor coming up on the next right," Leone said.

 

Seelo became puzzled. "S-sure, but um, why do ya ask?"

 

Leone led the group to the front of the mentioned palor and explained: "This, my friends, is our next exercise. Night Raid has been given a job to take out the owner of this parlor. I've been assigned by Boss to gather intel in the city to prepare for the assassination that will be taking place later tonight."

Elektra crossed her arms as she glanced up. This place did look familiar. Maybe she'd walked past it before or after she was locked up. Maybe. "Intel. So information about our target?" Elektra asked as she turned. "What kind of information we looking for though? Work hours, places he might go, personal business, personal information regarding family...?" Elektra paused. "All of the above?" She smiled. This wasn't going to be as violent as she thought, at least she hoped, at least for a while too. "(Maybe I could use my lovely charms to have people tell me things! That and I can just listen in on conversations. Rather easy when you're small enough to fit practically anywhere cramped.)" Elektra thought as she smirked to herself. "No one will resist my charms!"

Kotetsu hadn't visited the Capital City too often, so he didn't recognize the location. Regardless, he was eager to help gather information. "So, we just act like we're here for normal business, right?" He asked Leone, trying to understand what he'd be doing. Spying wasn't entirely new to him, although he'd never had to eavesdrop or gather information from a busy city.

Leone / Seelo

 

Leone explained further. "You see: the reason we're going to assassinate the owner is because he is secretly abusing the girls working for him and selling them off to nobles for private affairs. Tonight, they're having a meeting where one of these nobles is meeting in the parlor and picking out the girls he wants... our job is to find out every single piece of information we can about this meeting so that we can be prepared to assassinate our target."

 

"Wow... that's a sad, heavy ordeal, ma'am..." Seelo said, visibly affected by the thought of the poor young girls.

 

"It is... you sound like you're not up to it though," Leone said, noticing Seelo's expression. Quickly, though, the young country boy raised his head up and became stern.

 

"Oh I am, Miss Leone. Don't mistake my concern for mistake. We still got a job to do after all." He said.

 

"That's good to hear," Leone said, smiling. "Alright everybody, now spread out and search," Leone commanded.

 

"Oh, uh, wait Miss Leone. Are you sure its safe for us to be doing this in public? Night Raid won't catch any bad wind for it, will it?" Seelo said.

 

"Whoops! Forget to mention that. Haha. Don't worry, we got that covered. There are only so many members of Night Raid that the Empire is actually aware of. That's why they in particular only do missions at night. For us, we're fine as long as we keep our cover. See for yourself." Leone said, pointing to a wall behind the three, which showed wanted posters for Akame, Najenda, and a man named Bulat, who the rookies were told passed away just recently.

 

After that, the group began their mission...

 

-- Later That Night, Outside The Massage Parlor --

 

Leone, Seelo, Kotetsu, and Elektra stood on a rooftop opposite the parlor where the meeting with the owner, the noble, and the unfortunate female employees was taking place. The rookies had the weapons they originally had on them when they joined Night Raid.

 

"Alright, so we know that the noble brought guards with him, an estimate of twenty to thirty men, all armed with swords, and the owner may be hiding a dangerous weapon on him for extra protection. Everybody ready?" Leone asked.

 

"Got it, ma'am," Seelo replied, prepping his cow iron.

Edited April 29, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

"Ready when you are, Miss Leone." Elektra said, her hand on her axe as it rested on her shoulder. The situation was much more dire than what she originally had intended. She wondered if the man was targeted due to fraud or money issues, but the real situation was rather morbid. She had read of such...services in books. Tales of far away places where such services were common and would shock the hero of the story. But no fairy tail this time, all of it was real. "(I hope there won't be innocent casualties.)" Elektra thought, hoping the man wouldn't try to pull a stunt with the girls lives.

Kotetsu nodded. "I'm ready too, ma'am." He gripped his katana, prepared to battle. He hadn't seen action in quite a while. However, he was certain that he wouldn't have an issue with this battle. He was ready to take down the monsters who ran the parlor, after hearing about what Leone had told him. Tonight, I'll prove that I'm worthy of becoming a member of Night Raid.

Leone / Seelo

 

"Good," Leone responded.

 

Then, with a flicker of her belt buckle, Leone transformed, her blonde hair growing out to her back, her head now adorned with feline-like ears, and her hands turning into big, furry claws.

 

"W-wow. Is this your Imperial Arms, Miss Leone?" Seelo asked.

 

"Yep. It's called the Animal King: Lionelle. With it, my five senses and physical strength are increased. Simple, but effective," Leone bragged. "Now lets move out!" She commanded.

 

The four then made their way onto the rooftop of the shop, sneaking in quietly through an open window and walking quietly on hands and knees through the rafters. They observed the activities of the meeting from above:

 

A large man dressed in robes, flanked by several guards in black suits and carrying swords, was talking with a short man with balding head and a posh, white suit. Surrounding them were the female employees, all dressed in fine silk dresses, and also sitting on the floor, keeping to themselves. The owner had pacified their minds by having them smoke a type of opium. This would keep them in a fantasy land while the cruel reality of deciding their fate to the man with the toothy grin and bearing the stench of indecent lust would soon be upon them. This thought crossed Leone's mind, and it made her visibly angry, though only shown through her eyes, which Seelo caught wind of, but decided not to say anything.

 

The owner then motioned his hand over to the right side of the room, where ten girls were sitting, cobbled together on the floor, some giggling and even draped over from the drug having adverse effects on them.

 

"You like what you see? I'll gladly sell you them all for the reasonable price we talked about, sir." The owner said.

 

"I agree very much so. You have yourself a deal," the noble said, slowly walking over to his "purchase" to get a closer look. One of the girls, able-minded enough to realize what was going on, snapped from her state of sluggishness and backed away from the man.

 

"N-no! P-please! I don't want to go!" She pleaded.

 

"Oh, what's this now? We have ourselves a disgruntled employee do we?" The owner mused, walking over to the girl. "Well... that's alright, dear. You don't have to leave with this man if you don't want to."

 

The girl sighed in relief, but before she had a chance to thank her boss, he immediately punched her straight in the jaw, flooring her in a second. "Sorry about that sir. They might all not be as willing as you want them to be."

 

"That's just fine. I'll take good care of them..." The noble assured, ordering some of his men to get the girls. But before they could, a huge crash rang throughout the room as the Night Raid group busted through the wall.

 

"You got it backwards, pal. It's us who'll be taking care of you!" Leone cried, sending everybody into alert, as Seelo and the others readied their weapons.

 

"What the-! G-guards!" The noble cried, his men launching into an attack.

 

Leone fought through her opponents with ease, her Lionelle making her quick on her feet while at the same time very powerful. Seelo also managed himself by swinging around his iron with firm and measured blows.

Elektra couldn't help but to think of Leone's comment right as they jumped into action. "(Bit cliche, like a book, but then again, most heroes are cliche.)" Elektra thought as they landed and the fight started. Elektra knelt down, watching the guards strike as she glanced, aiming at their feet. Picking up her axe from her back, she used the wall behind her for a push, and rammed her axe across, slashing and crushing through the guards' legs, loud clacks of bone snapping could he heard. Blood spread across, following her axe. Elektra rolled out of the way of an attack, jumping back as the guards attacked her. Barely dodging the blows, she ran straight at them, sliding underneath between their legs at the right moment for their swords to hit the floorboards. Elektra stood up and spun her body, slashing across the soldier's back with her axe. "Got you now!" Elektra spun to look, only to see a soldier punch her point blank in her stomach. The force of a grown man compared to her small body made no competition. He expected her to fall, paralyzed, but with no pain to feel, Elektra simply glanced at him before slashing his head off with her axe. She would end up having bruises later.

Kotetsu followed the others into the battle. While his weapon wasn't quite as flashy as what the other three had, Kotetsu managed to easily fend off the brutes with his katana. The first charged at him, but wasn't fast enough to dodge a stab from Kotetsu. A second tried to surprise Kotetsu by attacking from behind, but Kotetsu quickly turned and slashed at the man's chest, defeating him as well. Another one of the men was able to kick Kotetsu back, but he quickly recovered and took down his enemy with another quick slash of his katana. "How are you all holding up?" He asked his teammates, hoping that they were all okay as well.

Seelo / Leone

 

"Alright, I guess!" Seelo said through his grunts. "'Bout as good as you can get with this kinda thing!" He added.

 

Seelo's branding iron was a versatile weapon. Not only was Seelo able to swing it around and clonk the thugs on their heads and bodies, but it also functioned as a battering ram, which combined with Seelo's arm strength, could plow through three or four thugs at once. Seelo was clearly in control of everything he was doing, his normally innocent/simple-minded expression replaced with a focused gaze fit for a soldier like Kotetsu, all the while still chewing on the straw in his mouth.

 

Leone was having no trouble at all. Her Imperial Arms promise of superhuman abilities was no lie; her speed, strength and agility were all on display in front of the newbies, launching thugs away with her mighty strikes while dodging and maneuvering through their own strikes, with not a scratch to be seen.

 

Wow. So this is what a official Night Raid member is like at their strongest... that's the kinda strength I gotta have, too, Seelo thought as he observed Leone while continuing to fight.

 

 

My exact reaction right now

 

 

----

 

"Never felt livelier." Elektra said as she watched the head roll on the floor. She didn't hesitate to pick it up and throw it into the air, before swinging her axe at the right moment and hitting the head with the flat part of the axe, sending it flying and smacking into one of its former comrades. The rolling head received more screams from the girls that sat, watching in horror and hoping that they wouldn't die, and if they did, that it would be a quick death. Even though the three of them fought bravely, the three of them together stood no match for Leone, who hadn't even been touched once. "(So it isn't even human by the end of the day.)" She thought. She blocked more attacks as she slashed away the swords and other weapons that came flying at her. She slashed at the soldier's legs, making them fall on their knees only to be kicked back to the ground. Elektra hurried over and stood by the girls, looking down at them. Some had no idea what was going on, the drug still doing effect. "You'll be fine." She said, before turning and slashing a soldier's knee, snapping it as it broke where he stood. He slashed the man away, as Elektra stood in front of the group of girls. No one would be touching them in her watch.

(So sorry for the weird spotty posting from me lately, things should speed up again now that I'm done with school/graduation ;_; )

 

Kotetsu continued battling the thugs, but managed to take a peek at Leone's fighting. He could barely believe that there was someone that powerful. Man, that's the power of a Night Raid member...? Those Imperial Arms must help them out a lot... He thought to himself, nearly losing focus on the battle. A knife slashing at his arm brought him back into reality. Ugh, no, can't be distracted now! He shook his head, and stabbed the thug's stomach. He noticed that Elektra was now defending the girls. I forgot they were here... We'll have to be careful to not let them get hurt. He got a little closer to them all, and made sure none of his enemies approached the group from his side.

Seelo / Leone

 

The Night Raid team were cleaning house, only so many of the thugs remaining.

 

Seelo then noticed at the corner of his eye that one of them was trying to go for the girls, possibly to use them as a shield. As the thug came close to putting his heads on a frightened girl with short black hair, Seelo used his speed to get between them, breaking the man's wrist with a swing of his iron. As the thug recoiled in pain, Seelo brought the iron back and drove it straight into the thug's stomach, sending him flying into a wall.

 

Smirking to himself, Seelo turned to the girl and said, "Don't fret. My partners and I are almost done wranglin' up these hoodlums," he said warmly, making the girl blush and filling the other girls smile with both admiration and hope.

 

As Seelo, Elektra, Kotetsu, and Leone finished off their prey, including the noble, all that was left was the owner of the shop, curled up in a corner of the room while cowering in fear at the superhumans before him.

 

"Alright, buddy. Your turn," Leone said, making her way over to finish the job.

 

"N-no! Stay back! Stay back I said!" The shop-owner cried, quickly pulling out an object - a ring - and sliding it on his finger, pointing it at Leone. The ring looked ordinary enough, but on its center where a jewel would normally be was instead a purple eye, staring straight at Leone.

 

"Hmm? What do you have there? Is that an Imperial Arm?" Leone asked, not really convinced that the weapon posed any threat.

 

The man began shaking and sweating all over. "I-I'm warning you! I-I'll use it! I'll-I'll-!"

 

"You'll what?" Leone said, quickly grabbing the man's wrist and halting any attempt to use the ring. She then applied significant force to her grip, making the man cry out in agony. After throwing him by the arm back to the center of the room, the shop-owner struggled to flee, desperate to stay alive even if it meant shutting down his parlor, leaving all the girls behind, and crawling into a hole until it was safe to come out.

 

Leone then jumped into the air, her eyes set on the fat blob of a target below her

 

CRACK!

 

In a swift motion, she had landed on the shop-owner's neck, knee first, and shattered it. The man's eyes bulged out as his mouth shot out a small torrent of blood and his tongue darted out of his mouth, staying outside it home as he covered the floor with drool.

 

Many of the girls were shocked and scared. Seelo could only turn away in disgust.

 

-- In Front Of Night Raid HQ --

 

"Welp, mission accomplished guys! Good job!" Leone congratulated the group, her bubbly tone clashing with her recent action of breaking a man's neck, coupled with how she explained to the group on the way back (upon Seelos' request) about how she knew many of the girls in the parlor as her childhood friends, and expressed a deep, almost feral disgust for the shop-owner while doing so.

 

"Thank you, Miss Leone. But uh, how come we just left the girls in the parlor?" Seelo asked, referencing how the group simply left town without readdressing that issue.

 

"Oh, don't worry. There's a local doctor who lives near the parlor. He was the one who helped keep the girls stabilized during their drug consumption. He'll make sure they will be taken care of," Leone assured.

 

"I see. Well that's good to know," Seelo replied.

 

"Yep! Now then, I suggest you guys get lots of sleep, because it only gets tougher from here!" Leone said, leaving the group to go back to their shed

 

-- The Next Morning --

 

Bright and early, the group of assassins met in the hideout's courtyard, where they were told that they would meet with not just one, but two members of the Night Raid. They had already passed the trials of both Mine and Leone, so who would be next?

 

Seelo sat down and chewed his straw, iron laying down on his shoulder like a samurai would lay his sword. "Hmm. I don't know about you guys, but I'm itchin' to see if we're ready to get us one of those Imperial Arms. Considerin' what we saw from Miss Leone and Miss Mine, those things sure do pack a whollop." Seelo said, taking note of the small yet significant progression he and his teammates have made.

 

(If anybody can understand where I got the idea for the ring, you win a cookie.)

Edited December 26, 20159 yr by Firaga Sensei

(All I can think is LOTR)

 

Elektra laid on the grass. The courtyard was actually a very pretty place. Lively with small wildlife. She entertained herself watching a small ant walk up the stalk of the grass. "I we can at least give them a try, even if it's borrowed. Leone looked so powerful with hers yesterday. She was taking down bad guys without breaking a sweat!" Elektra said, in response to Seelo's question. Would they be as powerful were they to have one? Maybe. Most likely. Yet it seemed that it was the weapon that made the person stronger, and whatever the person was before it didn't mean much afterwards. The men they fought fell one by one due to tactical attacks. If you break certain bones, you make them unable to move. If you break certain bones, you're able to kill them. They would scream because...well they were afraid, she assumed. Elektra watched as a praying mantis suddenly jumped to its chance, taking the ant by surprise and eating it up, starting by ripping off its head. "Yuck." Elektra said as she rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. "They seem to match their fighting style, though." Elektra added. Mine likes to fight from afar, Leone prefers up close and personal. Do you think the Imperial Arms would have to adjust to us or us to them?"