" ": You talking

' ': You thinking

* *: Narrator/Voice-off

Your POV:

Akame: Being out late at night is going to be dangerous. Let's handle this quickly. I'll be your escort.

Leone: Tatsumi's exhausted and sleeping pretty... So we'll go this time.

"I can only guess our... 'Sensitivity' will come in handy for this sort of assignment anyways.'

Akame: Thanks. I owe you one.

Najenda: Akame, you'll be fighting against your former comrades... But remember... You're not expendable...

Akame: ... This is the life that I have chosen... 'If you attack us... I will bury you.'

Esdeath: I see... So, Akame slipped through your fingers...

Wave: My deepest apologies.

Esdeath: ... You are currently in charge of palace security. What goes on in the town is outside your jurisdiction. The blame falls solely on Nouken and his troops' fault for becoming prey.

Wave: regardless... I'm still disappointed in myself...

Esdeath: There's no reason to be... Now that Budo is gone, there is no one capable of crossing swords with me like that... Apart from Akame, who wields Murasame, and Tao...

Wave: ... ... !

Esdeath: I just can't wait... To let loose this power I've prepared for this battle... I'm so excited thinking about it, it's even thrilling me at this very moment...

wave: ... General ! I... I want to become even stronger as well ! PLEASE, TRAIN ME !!

Esdeath: No can do.

Wave: Geh... That was blunt.

Esdeath: I made it crystal clear that your strength was already at its apex. Simply put, you're already at your maximum limit.

Wave: How can we be certain unless we push my limits ?! If there's a ceiling, I'll break through it !!

Esdeath: Hooohh ? Well, after that heartfelt speech, I guess I have no choice but to train you. However, the battle starts in just a few days.

Wave: Geh !

Esdeath: If you wish to become stronger in this short amount of time... The only methods available to us are very extreme.

Wave: 'My Grand Chariot is always in a state of equilibrium. there's absolutely no... Explosive power...' D- Do you mean drugs ?

Esdeath: Drugs wouldn't cut it for what we need. We're going to go even further than that... Normally, a person can wield only one Teigu. This is an ironclad rule that applies even to me. But... If one person were to try to use two teigu at the same time... What do you think would happen ?

Wave: Huh... ?

Esdeath: The answer is destruction. You do posses physical strength and force of will so it's not outside... The realm of possibility that someone like you might in fact be able to wield two Teigu at once... But it's imperative that you be compatible with both of them.

Wave: 'Wielding... Two Teigu... With that, then I, too, could be...'

Esdeath: Either way, it's your body. So decide for yourself. Whichever you choose, I promise you before this battle ends, I'll train you myself.

Wave: THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

Esdeath: Anyway, you came at the perfect time. The Emperor had just sent over a feast in recognition of our services... But I don't need all this. So eat up. Regardless of what you decide... If you don't eat up, you won't have your strength.

Wave: R- RIGHT !! *Grooooooowl*

Esdeath: Oh... And bring the sweet stuff to Kurome. She's probably gonna be hungry after she returns from her mission.

Wave: Mission ?

Esdeath: She went off to convene as a member of the shadow unit. they're heading to assassinate key members of the rebel army. I was very clear about my objections on the matter... But Kurome insisted on it...

Leone: i'm gonna pay you back... FOR THIS ARM !!

"And even if that's not enough... Looks like the ace up our sleeve came back."

Kurome: What ? SIS !!

Akame: Kurome...

"She she made quick work of the rest of the troops. And with even more reinforcements on their way, the tables are turning !"

Kurome: ... 'they even anticipated the fact that we'd split our forces up into two before infiltrating... This is bad, if we don't pull out now, this will turn into a massacre !' YATSUFUSA !!

Leone: Nghk ! Using corpses as a shield... !!

Kurome: EVERYONE... RETREAT !!

Akame: Kurome ! Tomorrow night... face me, one-on-one... Outside the Imperial capital, I'll be waiting at that place !!

Kurome: ... Okay !!

Tatsumi: Man, this sucks... By the time I woke up, the mission was already over.

"Oh, don't worry too much about that. Even if you were awake, you wouldn't be allowed to join for this."

Najenda: You're not to engage in any combat until the actual war.

Tatsumi: It just feels like... Everyone else is just busting their asses out there, while I'm sitting here relaxing...

Najenda: Do not worry. When the war comes, we'll work you good and proper.

Leone: And you too, Tao ! We're gonna "Work" you ! Good and proper !

"... Whatever..."

Akame: You all played a huge role in our efforts at the execution grounds. So it's only natural that he'd still be recovering from it. Thanks for the meal.

Tatsumi: ... Akame... She seemed quieter than her usual self.

"Of course... Tonight, she's gonna meet her little sister."

Tatsumi: A battle between sisters, is it ? She's doing it with the boss' approval, isn't she... ?

Najenda: Kurome was our original target. If we can remove her from the Empire, then their ability to assassinate our key players falls greatly. Although, to be honest, I don't think Kurome's presence in the actual battle will be a defining factor in victory or defeat. We simply cannot allow our supreme commander to be assassinated. So we've got to force this situation to eliminate her... That's the reality we find ourselves in.

Tatsumi: Then why... ?

Najenda: The conditions Akame gave when she joined the revolutionary army are as follows... "i want to be allowed to act according to my own discretion regarding anything involving my little sister". And it appears as though that time has come. So I gave her my blessing.

Tatsumi: And you ?

"... It was her conditions. I'm in no place to say anything for that matter;"

Leone: Same. Let Akame do what she wants. Whether she wants to kill her, or save her... I'll do anything and everything I can to help her.

Najenda: And in the case that the Empire is no more, and Kurome is spared... The revolutionary army will not pursue her for her crimes and Akame will be responsible for looking over her... That was officially last night. This is also in accordance to Akame's wishes for her sister.

Najenda: Akame has been diligently working for us all this time just to have these requests met.

Tatsumi: Then Akame...

"isn't going to a battle tonight, but a one-on-one match with her sister."

Najenda: This way she's able to remove sides from the equation and make it just between the two of them. And, ultimately, give herself a chance a chance to search for a way to finish this without killing her.

Leone: Like I said... Even if she tries to save her, we're okay with that. If she helps her, then Kurome will no longer be a part of the Imperial army, and that works in our favor.

"Right, but that's only the best of outcome. We need to assume that Kurome will refuse any type of help or aid from anyone, and the only choice they will have is to outright kill each other. Remember that if it was that easy for Akame to persuade her, there would be no need to go that far..."

Najenda: exactly. All we can do now is support her no matter what the outcome. That's exactly what we're prepared to do.

Tatsumi: ... ... ...

"Don't tell me you want revenge for Chelsea on Kurome ? I know you've got a lot of things on your mind right now, but..."

Tatsumi: that's not it... I share the same feelings as you. Whatever Akame has decided on... No matter what the outcome, i'm going to help her in any way I can. This is the path Akame has chosen.

Leone: ... I see.

Najenda: 'the Tatsumi of old... If he had been faced with the prospect of these sisters killing one another, would have started shouting about how we should stop her and how we need to talk her out of it. But now... He's come to the conclusion that this course of action was inevitable. I guess... this is what you call maturing... Or so they say. I just wish to hurry and bring this all to an end... This entire era.'

"... A lot of things are going on between these two... more than we can understand..."

Akame: ... i'm sorry.

Wave: ... Were you holding back with that attack just now ?

Akame: If I held back, I wouldn't have broken through your armor. But since you managed to survive that blow... Taking an intermission now seemed ideal, that's all.

Wave: 'Not a shred of mercy in her voice; If she had actually held back, it would have annoyed me to no end, but at least then I would have found something about her I could have exploited later on...' I see. You are formidable indeed.

Akame: I wish to meet Kurome, face to face. So there's something I would like you to pass along to Kurome for me. Tell her that i'll be waiting outside the Imperial Capital.

Wave: ... AFTER ALL THIS TIME, NOW YOU'RE PLANNING ON KIDNAPPING HER ?!

Akame: No. I just want the two of us to meet in a place where we're sure to be uninterrupted.

Wave: WHAT ?!

Akame: I'm sure that's what Kurome would want as well.

Wave: ... ... Fufu... No matter how I play this out in my head... Your sole purpose of calling her out is to kill her, isn't it ? It shouldn't matter if you're enemies or on the opposite sides of this battle... YOU'RE STILL SISTERS !! WHY WOULDN'T YOU GUYS DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO AVOID TO KILL ONE ANOTHER ?! THAT'S ONE THING I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND !!

Akame: The answer to that question... Lays a while back, in the distant past... Kurome and I were raised by the Empire to be assassins. I was the one that was trained almost exclusively in the mountains.

Wave: 'I see... So that's why Akame knows all the ins and outs of how to use this type of terrain to her advantage. That also explains why she's able to maneuver around here so freely and masterfully...'

Akame: But, Kurome was different from me... there, beneath the Imperial Capital, she was brought up and enhanced with all kinds of special drugs. Even now, she still eats sweets laced with drugs... Doesn't she ?

Wave: Yeah...

Akame: The drugs they prescribed to Kurome were most likely to strengthen and develop her muscles... But instead, they substantially shortened her lifespan, and they also place a huge strain on her brain. I knew it was only a matter of time before her mind and her heart would gradually become warped...

Wave: ... "Warped" ? She's not...

Wave: 'Those drugs had such serious side effects ?!'

Akame: I tried to get her to stop taking those drugs, but Kurome's body had already become addicted and reached the point of no-return... Without those drugs, she would endure severe spasms and even seizures.

Wave: if that's the case... That's all the more reason why you should be there for her... !! Tell me, why did you betray the Empire ,!

Akame: ... ... Looking in on the Empire from the outside... From an entirely different perspective... I began to have my doubts, questions... I began to realize that the tyranny of the Empire just might be the actual cause of the suffering of its people.

Akame: And then, after witnessing several encounters and events first-hand... My inquisitive suspicions turned into unwavering convictions. I could no longer in good conscious follow the Empire... so I withdrew.

Wave: At that time, you invited Kurome to come with you, didn't you... ?

Akame: Yes. There's a place known as God's secret hot spring, in the borderlands... To put it simply, it's a place of healing, made up of all different kinds of therapeutic and medicinal hot springs... I promised that if I could care for her there while she was going through her detox... then there might be some hope in being able to extend Kurome's life span.

Akame: There have been documented reports of people who were diagnosed with half a year left to live from some disease, going on to live as much as another 5 years, in some case even longer... I figured as long as the possibility wasn't zero, then it was something worth trying. I pleaded with Kurome... To withdraw from the Imperial army, to free herself from those drugs, and to search for some possibility that she she might extend her life.

Akame: but Kurome said that doing so would not only be a betrayal to our fallen comrades, but the very thought of her current comrades becoming her enemies was more than she could bear... So she refused to leave the Empire... What I needed to do was take her with me, even if that meant doing so by way of force... In hindsight, I should have shown more resolve and gone though with my plans... But... It was impossible... I didn't have the courage or strength...

Wave: ... the person who saved my life, is a member of the Imperial army. There's no way I could ever fight against him. Changing sides is simply not an option for me. With that in mind, I can totally relate to how Kurome feels. Surely you once felt the same way that Kurome does now ?

Akame: ... Many things happened that changed the way I felt and thought, but... Above all... the reason we killed people, was to fan out the sparks of war before they turned into raging flames... This was said to be for the sake of the people and their happiness... That's what we were taught. But in the end, it was really all done for the Empire's hidden agendas; That's when I came to the realization that if I truly wanted to act for the people, then I could only do so as a saboteur against the Empire.

Wave: In my case... Ever since I set foot into the Imperial Capital, I've seen all kinds of awful things... That's why I decided I'd try to change the Empire from the inside. That's how you should have approached it !

Akame: From the inside... ? With their strangle-hold on all political power and authority... Do you have any idea the lengths the Prime Minister and his cabinet went to in order to eradicate any who dared oppose their ideologies ?

Wave: What lengths... There's no way they'd...

Akame: I know for a fact... because long ago, those who opposed were among the very people I was ordered to assassinate for the Empire. The darkness of the Empire runs deep... very deep... It's because changing things from the inside was impossible... that things have played out as they have now...

Wave: ... SO WHAT, I'M JUST SUPPOSED TO SIT HERE AND DO NOTHING ?! THINGS HAVE CHANGED ! THEY'RE NOT LIKE THEY USED TO BE !! JUST WATCH, I'M GONNA DO IT... CHANGE THINGS FROM THE INSIDE !!

Akame: Is that so... So that's the path you're wagering on...

Wave: ... Please, finish what you have to say...

Akame: For Kurome... Fighting for the sake of her comrades and completing the Empire's missions... I believe those are her reasons for living. In Kurome's mind, all she's ever known is to keep on fighting the Empire's fight. All the while being broken by the drugs, with what little bit of life she has left... If this is what she truly wants, then I'll fight. I'll fight... And save her from her own suffering. As her sister, this is all I can do for her now.

Wave: ENOUGH !! I'D HAVE BEEN FINE WITH HEARING ABOUT SOME WAY TO SAVE KUROME... BUT I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO ANOTHER DAMN WORD ABOUT HER DEATH !! No matter what the circumstances... For you to even consider killing your own sister as a way of "saving" her... You're fucking nuts. I'm gonna crush that rebel army of yours... And then i'm gonna take Kurome to that hidden spring and heal her. SHE DOESN'T NEED ANY OF YOUR "SAVING" !!

Akame: Hey... !

Wave: 'Now... Having rejected her request, will you allow me to escape... ?! If not, come after me ! Come and i'll have you eat my counter head on !!'

Wave: ... 'She's not coming after me... Shit... !! Akame... I never imagined she'd be this powerful... And after escaping the execution platform... i'm sure Tao has probably powered up as well. I, too... Need to become stronger... !!'

Akame: 'That conversation took way too long... If I don't return now, I'll be in danger. Kurome...'