2 Chapter 2: Save the Dead

Beta read by Shigiya, Fabled Life and Paragon of Awesomeness.

.

.

.

-Outside the Manor-

The moon hung high in the star-speckled sky, casting an ethereal glow upon the sprawling estate of the Kalrenn family. The mansion, a grand and foreboding structure, stood as a symbol of wealth and power in the heart of the Imperial Capital. Protected by a platoon's worth of guards, its gates were sealed shut, and the air hung heavy with an aura of imposing wealth and power.

Leone, a woman with wild, almost lion-like features; her mane-like hair, her long canines, the tail swishing behind her, and of course those clawed hands. Having an undeniably beautiful face along with a body that few men would be able to ignore should she so much as pass by them. Combine that with the skimpy, tight black pieces of cloth she wore around her chest and waist, and no one would doubt for a second that this woman was more than happy to take advantage of men's lust for her as she killed them.

It was all too easy for one to imagine her sauntering up to a target, their eyes almost instinctively drawn to either her twin lumps of heavenly flesh barely hidden by a single piece of fabric on her chest or her admittedly shapely rear, only to find a knife that could be easily concealed in those loose baggy sleeves she wore on her arms and legs stuck in their throat.

Then again, with those claws of hers and the muscles that could very well be hidden underneath said sleeves, she might not even need that much. If Archer were to see her, her think of the how he'd seen numerous women over the course of his existence that went into battle scantily clad in order to distract their male enemies with their own desires of the flesh, and it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if she turned out to have a similar fighting style.

Holder of the Teigu; The King of Beasts, Lionelle.

Beside her, Akame, a woman of stark contrast, exuded an aura of unwavering determination. Her midnight-black hair framed a face as cold and serene as the surface of a still pond, and her crimson eyes bore the weight of countless battles. She stood like a sentinel, a katana gleaming at her side.

Leone spared a sidelong glance at her companion and flashed a feral grin. "Akame, you ready for this? Those rumors about the Kalrenn family have been giving me the creeps I tell ya. We can be done with them before sunrise."

Akame nodded, her voice as measured as ever. "I've been trained to handle worse. If they're as monstrous as we've heard, they won't escape."

As they crept closer to the mansion, Leone's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know, I've been gathering intel on these folks for a while. Seems like they've been capturing passing civilians, torturing them to death for amusement - just like it was mentioned in the reports. Sick bastards."

Akame's expression remained unchanged, but her grip on her katana tightened imperceptibly. "That does match the description we received."

However, just as they reached the entrance of the manor, Leone's enhanced instincts, honed through countless battles, screamed at her to take cover. She skidded to a halt, causing Akame to pause as well, her senses sharp. Her face turned pale, her heart skipping a beat as a terrifying sensation came over her.

"What's wrong?" Akame inquired, her eyes scanning their surroundings.

Leone's voice trembled with a rare note of fear. "Something's not right, Akam-" her voice halted as at the corner of her eyes, she caught the image of a single red dot emerging from the forest and heading straight for the manor in front of them at speed rivaling that of Pumpkin. "Get down!"

Without hesitation, both women sought cover behind stone pillars just as a crimson arrow streaked across the night sky. It descended with unnatural speed and precision, heading straight for the heart of the mansion.

Leone's eyes widened with terror as she shouted, "Take cover!"

Seconds later, an earth-shattering explosion engulfed the manor, a cataclysmic force that obliterated everything in its path. The shockwave radiated outward, shattering windows in neighboring buildings, uprooting ancient trees, and sending debris hurtling through the air like deadly shrapnel.

As the fiery tempest raged on, Leone and Akame clung to their cover, their faces etched with disbelief and horror at the devastation that had just unfolded before them. "Argh!" The gale of wind strong enough to uproot a large slab of stones hurled then straight for Leone who was forced to use her transformed body as a shield.

"Leone!"

Akame's voice was drowned by the sound, but before she went over to check on her friend, she spotted a shadow escaping the forest from where the arrow came from and she halted.

"..."

Leone was fine, she needed to find out just what happened.

{Break}

(A few seconds earlier)

In the eerie stillness of the night, the Kalrenn family gathered in the dimly lit chamber of their mansion. A sense of calm anticipation hung in the air as they whispered among themselves, their voices barely more than sinister hisses with the sound of fire from the chimney crackling in the background.

Maxwell Kalrenn, the patriarch of the family, leaned back in his plush chair, his face contorted into a gentle smile. "Honestly, don't you think you've gone picking a bit too early? After all, I believe our previous catch is still breathing as we speak. Then again, our dear guest has proven quite the intriguing addition, wouldn't you agree, dear?" He said while looking at the beautiful woman next to him.

Valria, his wife, nodded, her eyes closed as she sipped on her cup of tea, having a similar aura as her husband. "Don't blame her, dear, our daughter is still young and just wants to play around a bit. Besides, those two can be considered dead, too feeble to even resist basic illness that even our dog survived."

"Now now, don't compare street rats to our dear hound, that boy is tougher than some of the imperial soldiers."

Aria, their daughter, who had earlier played the role of the innocent hostess, lounged around the couch with a pondering face. Absentmindedly playing with her a lock of blonde hair, her expression almost lost in a sea of unknown emotions. "I've been thinking, Father, Mother. Perhaps we can keep him around for longer, make him our pet... what do you think?"

Truth be told, it wasn't everyday she encountered such a good looking peasant. He almost resembled a noble, with his hair and eyes. That coupled with his polite mannerism and elegant way of speaking made her doubt his identity."

Maxwell chuckled darkly. "Ah, Aria, my dear, you and your mother always had a penchant for the art of playing with your subjects and growing attached to them. I can understand why, he is a handsome fellow but his blood is still dirty."

"A shame really," Valria interjected, her voice dripping with disappointment before returning to her chipper mood. "I've been looking forward to having a fun time with him. That last girl was especially resilient, though her foul mouth sure left a bad taste at the end. Thankfully Aria pulled out her teeth for me."

"I wanted to cut off her tongue, mother." The daughter replied absentmindedly.

"Then she would have died, not much fun. Hopefully this man will last longer. He looks to be in good condition and even hunts Danger Beasts! I can't wait to try out some of my rare collections for him. Speaking of guests, we should have the servants take him to the shed, the medicine I added to his meal should have taken effect by now."

The family exchanged jovial glances, the outside world unbeknownst of the horrors they inflicted on others. They reveled in the anticipation of the suffering they would unleash upon their unsuspecting guest. Aria frowned, she wanted to keep him around for longer while also playing around with the man as well. "I can keep a piece of him with me if he doesn't survive. Those eyes of his were rather prett-" her voice stopped and so did the chatter between both parents.

Aria's voice abruptly halted, not because someone came and knocked on the door or a sound that disrupted their conversation. Rather, it was a light, a red hue that filled the room as if thunderstruck nearby and it came from the window. As all of the family members noticed something peculiar from the outside. In the eerie stillness of the night, an intense crimson radiance washed over the room, casting eerie shadows that danced on the walls.

Growing intense enough to burn their irises, sending an imminent feeling of death knocking on their doorsteps. "Wa-" Her eyes widened with disbelief, and before she could even scream, the windows shattered into a hail of sparkling shards.

Amidst the chaos, a grotesquely twisted arrow emerged, defying the laws of physics as it bent the very space around it. It shot into the room with horrifying speed, and in her last moments, Aria felt a surge of terror grip her heart. She barely had time to glimpse the horrifying tableau unfolding before her.

In an instant, her parents' bodies were caught in an unholy contortion, their flesh distorting in nightmarish fashion - ripping apart into bits whilst their face retained the confusion as they hadn't even registered the pain... their death. Only in the last split second as their bodies had mostly turned into piles of charred flesh did their faces twist into agonized masks, a grotesque mirror of the suffering they had inflicted on countless others.

The next heartbeat unleashed hell itself upon the mansion. An angry, raging ball of fire erupted from the arrow's impact, its flames licking at everything in their path and engulfing the shocked Aria.

Crash!

The shockwave it generated was devastating, shattering windows in neighboring buildings, uprooting ancient trees, and sending debris hurtling through the air like shrapnel from a bomb.

The once imposing Kalrenn mansion was consumed by the inferno, reduced to a smoldering ruin in the blink of an eye. The dark secrets it held were incinerated along with it, leaving nothing but a trail of devastation in the wake of this sudden and violent cataclysm. The very ground quaked beneath the onslaught, and a colossal dome of fire roared into the night sky, casting an eerie, hellish glow across the surrounding landscape.

As the flames continued to rage, the onlookers could do nothing but cover their bleeding ears and eyes - many of the guards having lost their lives but some survived. The entire Capital awakened in fright, crying in fear as they misunderstood that the enemy force must have launched a sneak attack. Even those who came to assassinate the family could do nothing but watch the inferno with a lost expression.

"What the fuck," muttered Leone as she pushed back a giant slab of concrete that nearly crushed her. A part of the street near the manor that was torn apart just from the shockwave. Not even having time to use her Teigu with how quickly the explosion happened, the blonde was thankful that she stood far enough and still got lucky. "Did... Did someone else get here before us? What do you think, Akam-eh?"

Her partner was no longer around, "Where the heck did she run off to now..."

.

.

.

Within a silent alley, a lone figure carrying two mutilated bodies traversed. Some of the beggars immediately ran away as a sense of dread rose within their guts at the sight. Stopping in front of a dilapidated wooden door, the white haired man lightly looked around before his eyes stopped at a small plaque engraved on the door itself of the owner's name. "It should be here, the name is the same."

Lightly tapping the door with his foot, he waited for a response until a warry voice came from the other side. "W-Who is it?"

"You already know who it is, you owe me a favor and I'm here to cash in on that." Emiya said, waiting for a bit until multiple clicks of the locks being opened sounded. The door opened slightly to show the face of an old woman peeking at him and the people on his shoulders.

"Are you responsible for the chaos outside?" The old granny asked, still hearing the sound of people screaming outside as rows of soldiers rushed to the site. "If they found out you came here then the next person I'm expecting to see at my doorsteps is one of the Four Rakshasa Demons of the Imperial Fist Temple coming for my neck."

"As far as I know, you don't have a Teigu, so they'll probably send someone else. Now, don't waste time and take a look at these two and see if you can save them."

"Humph, all I see are barely breathing corpses. What's the point? Are they related to you or something?"

"There is no such point," he admitted with a sigh. "Listen, I'm not asking you to perform a miracle or cure death. Just see if you can keep them alive for a while longer until I actually find some real doctor out there." He already had someone in mind, but reaching that man would take a few days.

"You know, that very much sounds like you're insulting my skills. I may not be Dr. Stylish, but I can still perform my duty perfectly!" The old woman spoke angrily, offended even at his words and fully opened the doors to her abode. Emiya met this person a few years ago during his travels, Shio... who he was certain that it wasn't even her real name - not that he cared. A former doctor who claimed to have once worked as one of the doctors for the late king and queen. He saved her life from a Danger Beast as she traveled outside to gather resources.

"Gods above, this is sickening," the old woman said while covering her mouth as she examined Ieyasu and Sayo. "Just who did this?"

"You don't need to know." The less she knew the better, a flash of understanding flashed within Shio's eyes.

"If you are here with them, then I'll assume whoever did this is dead."

"Can you help or not?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have a miracle device like the Hands of God on me, or else this would have been much easier. A large part of the flesh and limbs are already too far gone with necrosis and severe infection."

"They have also been injected by various diseases and who knows what."

"Then that makes it even harder."

Emiya waited patiently with his back resting against the doorframe and arms crossed. "The boy had enough strength to hold a conversation a few minutes ago, he lost consciousness right before I arrived."

Shio nodded her head, going to the other side of the room and rummaging through the cupboard and retrieving various viols of blood and roughly made pills. It wasn't until he saw her retrieve a saw that her intentions became evident. "Which limbs exactly?"

"The left arm needs to go for the girl and both legs for the boy. I won't lie to you, I can possibly deal with most of the diseases and keep them stable for a while longer but the chances of them surviving at all is nearly non-existent. I don't know who this person you have in mind is, but I doubt he can do much as well. It'd be better if they were given a quick death instead and end their suffering." Of course he knew that, his consciousness wouldn't stop screaming at him how idiotic all of this was since the beginning.

His eyes twitched, looking at the window outside Emiya tapped his fingers on his forearm before turning around and turning the knob of the door. "You don't have to tell me that, I realize that point. No, I don't have any answer as to why... if they die then that's that." He didn't say anything else before leaving the place, leaving Shio to continue working on her own.

Hearing his answer she shook her head. "It just means that you still have a heart. A rarity in the Empire these last few years."

{Break}

Heading a few dozens of meters down the block, as expected, they already started to barge into every home. Most likely thinking that this was caused by the revolutionary army and searching for them. "This is troublesome."

There weren't many guards in this area of the capital... rather, most were probably scouting the area near the mansion to either find any survivors and further investigation. Pointless, whilst the people in this world had interesting means to protect themselves with Teigus, the family didn't have one. No amount of reinforced concrete was capable of stopping Caladbolg, unless they had an equally powerful shield. That shot was to make sure that no chances existed of anyone surviving and all of that nightmare to be burned away.

Interestingly enough, he recognized some of these men amongst those stationed at the gates of the Kalrenn estate. A few who instantly recognized him as he let his face be seen - standing far from Shio's house.

"You there, stop!"

Archer looked at the guardsmen who surrounded him. To start, there were a dozen men holding tower shields serving as the first line of defense, no doubt armed with swords as well, though he couldn't see whether or not they were still in their sheaths. Then behind the shield-bearers was an equal number of spearmen followed by almost double their number in crossbowmen, loaded and ready, and then four more guards who were aiming rifles.

There were a few dozens of them, all pointing their weapons directly at him.

It amused him just how diverse weaponry in this world was, since he expected the usual spear, sword, bow and shield combo. He'd seen guns such as those before, and thus he knew that they were capable of firing over twenty rounds before having to reload. Even though such weapons were expensive and difficult enough to produce that most folk - including the vast majority of the Imperial military and even some nobles - preferred to use more traditional arms such as swords and bows, Archer still found it ridiculous that firearms such as those existed in the first place given the state of this civilization was still stuck in the middle ages.

Then again, weapons such as those existing in a place like this were hardly the most outlandish things he'd ever seen, even if he were to only count his experiences from this current life.

In the center of the guards' formation, flanked by the rifleman was the one final guard bringing the number up to an even fifty. He was the one who had served as Aria's carriage driver earlier that night, but the bowman quickly deduced that his actual rank was more important than that. The fact that he was the only guard here with his face exposed, along with his prominent - or in Archer's mind, exposed - position, identified him as the captain of the Kalrenns' personal guard. His arms distinguished him from the rest as well, wielding a kite shield emblazoned with the noble family's sigil and a longsword that was a bit too ornate for a rank-and-file soldier to carry.

"You are that archer fellow," the captain muttered as his men all stared at the bowman, ready to kill him as soon as their commander gave the word. "You're the one responsible for the attack, vile revolutionary army scum!"

"Scum huh... interesting," Archer said with a raised eyebrow. Tracing the Married Blades within his hands as the guards around him tensed. "How is it that you are all able to even stomach that insanity, let alone help those disgusting wastes of flesh commit it? I know you were aware of what was going on within the shed."

In truth though, the Counter Guardian knew full well that these guards had done far more than merely stomach or support in the Kalrenns' madness; a few had actively taken part in it. Whether it be by their own volition or by the orders or Aria and her family did not matter to him. He was no saint to judge each and every one, no, his only goal back then being eliminating that place as soon as possible.

One of the guards grimaced at Archer's words, and the wandering hero could see shame in the other guardsmen's eyes next to him. Until eventually he declared silently, "Because in the Capital, one either abides by the system that is currently in place, or is consumed by it."

"Of course," Archer sighed at the response, but not out of contempt or disappointment... not for these men at least. As much as he hated it, the captain's words merely reflected the reality that these people were forced to live in.

"My only target were the Kalrenns and no one else, which is why I'm going to give you all a single chance to leave," Archer declared. "Get out of here, go back to whatever family you have, and leave this wretched city behind; I'll even cover your escape from other guards. But if you instead choose to continue to stand here in order to fight for a family that is already dead... then I pity you."

"Don't listen to him, men," the captain shook his head. "All those here who used to be part of the Kalrenn guardsmen will be held accountable by General Budo himself in case they defect or refuse orders. As for you, while I can respect your bravado, the fact is you're completely surrounded. Surrender now, and I promise I'll give you a quick death instead of capturing you and imprisoning you for the death of the Kalrenn family. Those from the Revolutionary Army do not get a painless death, so I am doing you a favor here."

Archer closed his eyes, then placed his two blades in two holsters he had on his hips for when he needed to put the blades away while concealing his magic. The captain let a surprised look take over his face, having not expected that the young man would actually listen to him. He silently pondered what to say, only for Archer to open his mouth.

"Kind of funny you think I'm part of the Revolutionary Army. Though I can't fault you for that. Unfortunately, I am not surrendering."

The captain scowled. "Kill him!"

Every guard carrying a ranged weapon fired their ammunition, but Archer had moved before the Captain even shouted his orders. He leaped completely over the line of men to his right, and while in midair he brought out his bow and nocked an arrow before even reaching the apex of his jump.

The guards who had been able to see him avoid their crossbows didn't even have a full second to stare in awe before the bowman sighted his target, pulled back the string, and then loosed the arrow right into the center of their captain's forehead.

He spun through the air to land on his feet, returning his bow to its resting place as he did so. As the wanderer's feet hit the ground he took a moment to survey the men who had just tried to kill him.

Beyond the line of men, he heard the metallic clang of the captain's body collapsing to the earth.

Every one of the guards was standing in the same position as they'd been before attacking him. Still armed.

Within the depths of his heart, Archer felt a deep pang of disappointment. What was the use of talking to them? But to the world his eyes merely hardened as he once again brought out Kanshou and Bakuya.

The crossbowmen had all just released their bolts and couldn't reload nearly fast enough, while the spearmen suddenly found themselves encumbered by their allies and were unable to turn around and point their weapons in the direction needed. As for the men carrying the heavy tower shields, the massive slabs of steel now only served to weigh them down.

The battle plan now in tatters and their captain dead, the guards quickly dissolved into an uncoordinated mess. Six of the crossbowmen fell to Archer's blades before they wizened up and abandoned their current weapons in order to reach for their swords, with another two dying before they could even draw them. As for the guards who were not in immediate range of the young yet undeniably lethal swordsman, they were busy trying to decide what to do next. The two officers still in the group - the lieutenant and sergeant-at-arms - tried to shout for order, telling their men to reposition themselves and to get their formation back, but amidst the panic and the clashes of steel less than a quarter of those still alive heard them.

As for Archer, he had become a whirlwind of blood and blades as he raced across the grounds, dealing out death left and right. Only after an additional eight men had fallen to him did he suddenly break off, running into the trees that were part of the earl's gardens. By this point the two officers were starting to rally their men again, only for two arrows to come streaking out of the darkness simultaneously, ending their lives in the exact same manner as their captain.

With all of their figures of authority on the battlefield along with over a third of their number now dead, the remaining guards were absolutely terrified. It hadn't even been a full minute, yet one combatant had reduced them to this?

The men didn't exactly have time to ponder their situation though, as their thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like something spinning through the air towards them. One man with a torch held it up to try and make out whatever the source of that sound was, only for the torch to be extinguished by a spray of his own blood. Six men behind him shared his fate as a razor sharp black disc carved a gruesome path through their ranks before it emerged from the crowd and continued onward, only stopping as a familiar figure stepped out from the darkness, and caught it in his left hand.

The remaining guards turned as one to see Archer as he swung the black blade to clear most of the blood off of it.

Half down, half to go.

Archer fired his sixteenth arrow for the night into the back of a retreating figure. He wished he could say that was the end of the battle right there, but he wasn't done yet.

He forced himself to advance toward the last remaining guard, a man who was already on the ground bleeding severely from his arm and chest from when Archer had thrown Bakuya at him and his comrades. All he was capable of doing was attempting to crawl backward with his one good arm as he whimpered for his life.

He was helpless, and Archer was going to kill him.

"P...please," the man begged as his arm collapsed from exhaustion. "Let me go. I won't cause no trouble fer ye or nothin'. Anyone asks and I'll tell 'em whatever you want me to, I swear! I only served the earl because I didn't wanna go back to livin' in the slums! Plus it's not like, like-kuh!" His voice was cut off as Archer remained unshaken as his right arm blurred, and a red line appeared across the man's throat, going all the way across till his head tumbled on the ground. The eyes still blinking a couple of times, not like he could talk anymore.

And just like that, his life came to an end. A quick and painless one as some would consider.

In the end, it was all the same for Archer who let out a sigh. 'I'm sorry, but you had your opportunity, just like they all did.' he thought as he turned his gaze toward the other corpses strewn across the grounds. 'There are some things in life, where you just don't get a second chance.'

"You can come out now, I know you're there." Archer's eyes slowly turned to the left, and he saw a figure emerging from the rooftop with the moon behind her back. His attention momentarily caught at the katana in her grasp. 'A Teigu, quite a dangerous one at that.'

Whoever this woman was though, she seemed to be the discrete type given how she hid there the entire time and watched. Which begged the question, why would she do that, and why was she here in the first place?

But before that, Archer had to determine the level of threat she presented.

She'd thrown away the chance to ambush him after revealing herself so easily, perhaps opting for a confident approach meant to lure him into lowering his guard.

The woman - almost certainly an assassin of some kind.

One-Cut Killer: Murasame

One of the forty-eight Imperial Arms, forged through alchemy using a combination of the remnants of slain Super Class Danger Beasts along with a rare, legendary ore called orichalcum on the orders of the first emperor himself; a Teigu.

Weapons that could only be wielded by the mightiest of warriors and had the potential to turn the tides of battles that decided the course of history. The closest things to Noble Phantasms he had seen in this new life.

Since their initial construction more than a thousand years ago, less than half of these weapons were still accounted for by the Empire today, with many having been either destroyed or gone missing over the course of the Empire's history.

And this woman had one.

As the blade before him now rested within his Reality Marble, the Counter Guardian learned more about its abilities and just how dangerous this blade was. Since Teigus weren't Divine Constructs, he could replicate bladed weapons just as easily as any Noble Phantasm.

All this took place before the mysterious woman had even taken her first step toward Archer. No, she remained still, each evaluating one another, ready to strike if one side showed even the slightest trace of hostility. She had a different air around her, more refined and dangerous, a professional no question. Though what remained unknown was how she was, a single scratch from that blade was capable of killing him, so just out of precaution, he made sure to prepare a few Black Keys just in case she had other ideas.

"You were at the manor," she said while sizing him up as an unknown variant to the mission.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked, not even bothering to answer her question.

"..."

So not much of a talker, hm, worked perfectly fine with him.

"Was that arrow your Teigu?" She spoke again, alluding to the shot he fired. Archer was surprised she managed to perceive the form of Caladbolg despite it moving that fast. This just made him that much more wary of this woman, her reflexes were certainly above the guards. Then again, he only needed to worry in case she was an enemy.

"I'll be going my way, you can leave first if you want." He said, once again ignoring her question which slightly deepened the frown on her face. The grasp on her katana tightening, perhaps they might end up in a battle after all. "Are you with the Empire?"

Oh, now he understood what she suspected his identity to be. "I believe my actions speak for themselves. Unless you're thinking I'm some assassin sent by a rival family or something, which I'm not."

"Come with me."

"Where and why?" Now that he paid more attention to her face, it dawned on Archer who she really was... this was a person that he recognized. How could he have not, given the seemingly endless number of wanted posters the Empire had for her? The girl may have been young, but she was known to be the most notorious and deadly member of the elite assassination group known as Night Raid that, while unconfirmed, had long been suspected of having ties to the Revolutionary Army that sought to overthrow the current government of the Empire.

Archer remembered the posters stating that this girl, young as she may have been, had been trained since her early childhood to be an elite assassin by the Empire's finest, before going rogue a few years ago. Her body count was said to be in the quadruple-digits, and supposedly she carried a Teigu that could kill with a single touch. Even on his way here he faced a description from one of the people outside the Capital. Members of a dangerous group with a woman whose sword could kill anything with one cut then was spotted with a tall burly man in a small village both welding blades or in some cases a spear. On the same day one of the top officials was found dead in his room, people speculated they were members of the infamous Night Raid.

"..."

Well, they weren't his enemies if she truly was part of that group. And he needed to get those two to a competent doctor anyhow, so they might end up going there together in the end.

"Akame!" Shouted someone else running across the streets. A blonde with a rather riske choice of clothing, covered in bruises, burns and cuts, though nothing serious. Despite her rather less than favorable state, she managed to smile and behave as if nothing happened to her. "You made yourself a new friend? Quite rare... what's your name, mister?"

Though her lips were smiling, the same could not be said for her eyes. They were more on guard than even Akame here, like a lion ready to pounce on him at any second rather than wait for him to show signs of hostility.

"... I should be asking you that first." He said with a somber tone, keeping his swords next to him.

"Serious type, are you? Well since you asked my name is Leone. As for why I'm here, rumor has it that the people who own... I mean used to own the current burning hole of fire where a large manor once stood was pretty nasty to put it lightly, so Akame and I came to check the place out and see if they were true. Too bad someone got rid of it." She added an emphasis on the someone part. The now named Leone said while casually crossing her arms behind her head, staring at him as she said that last part.

Archer's brow furrowed slightly, not having expected such an easy answer from her.

"So, since I was nice enough to tell you who I am, why not return the favor?" Since she was keeping her distance for now, Archer lowered his blades, but didn't ease up his grip.

"You can call me Archer."

At that, Archer saw Leone's eyes widen briefly before narrowing as he suddenly had her full attention. He watched her carefully as she gave him a second look, examining him just the way he had with her a minute ago.

White hair

Tan skin

A pair of curved shortswords, one black, the other white

A cloak and a black armored vest

Eyes made of steel and a black bow which wasn't currently on him. But if the dead corpse behind her impaled by an arrow wasn't proof enough then she didn't know what else would be.

Her eyes glanced at all of these, which when combined together matched what people said the Archer looked like. Leone carefully stared at him for another few seconds before her face broke into an easy smile again. "Well Archer, seems like you might actually be as good as the rumors make you out to be. Tell me, you don't happen to be responsible for the explos-"

Archer ignored the words and cut her off, "We should leave, the place will be swarmed by guards in the following minutes."

"You don't say?" Leone replied with squinted eyes before crouching down and starting to loot the corpse of any valuables and coins. Archer made sure to never take his eyes off her as she made her way next to Akame now holding a bag full of gold and other trinkets. "Well let's go, it's not every day I get to see Akame be interested in anything other than food or her blade. So I'm curious to learn more about our dear manor destroying Danger Beast hunter."

With the two following along, Archer quickly made his way back to Shio's house as the old woman was in the middle of cauterizing the open wounds and parts where the limbs were removed. Akame showed no change to her expression as Leone's eyes widened slightly. "These two..."

"They were inside the shed, only ones left alive. You'll help me bring them over to your base and have them be taken over by your best doctor."

"Hey, what's with the ordering around?" Leone scoffed at him, her previous cheerful mood having diminished and replaced with confusion. "Do you even know who we are? We're not part of the-"

"Yes, you're part of the Night Raid, thus have ties with the Revolutionary Army." His quick response caught her by surprise. "We'll be leaving after she finishes up with them. Akame already told me to come along, so let's not waste each other's time with pointless words."

"Huh?" Now Leone was really getting confused, she whipped her head around to Akame with shock. "You told him to come with us?"

The dark haired assassin nodded her head.

"Why?"

"He isn't part of the Empire." Akame responded, which Leone couldn't deny but still... even if he was that Archer, they needed to be more careful with this. "And he's dangerous."

"I'll take it you mean the good kind of danger that can work with us rather than killing everyone by surprise. Regardless, damn... I really didn't plan for this night to be this chaotic. Hah, but there is nothing I can do about that." She sighed, adjusting her belt and looking around the room. "I'll ask you again, was that a Teigu back there? I don't recall any having the form of an arrow of that sort."

Archer remained silent, not caring in the slightest about Leone's inquiry. Instead he walked past them and next to Shio who finished the procedure. Cleaning her hands, she gave him a side eye before uttering a single phrase. "I've done my part of the deal, now we're even. Get these two soon to be corpses out of here."

"I appreciate it," with the room smelling like burned flesh, he picked up Ieyasu with Leone standing there uncertain before smacking her face with both hands.

"Fuck it, keep your secrets. Come on, I'll get the girl, I can tell they don't have much time so let's hurry up! I'll ask my questions later." He smirked, her decision giving him some inkling on her overall personality and character. Akame followed along, keeping a lookout as they left the house. "I swear, running out of the Capital with a freaking single armed girl and a guy who blew up the manor was not even an option in my expectations. By the way, are they friends of yours? Or were you paid to investigate the manor?"

Archer shook his head. "No, I went there by chance. I only spoke to the boy once for a few minutes. I promised that I'd honor his final request, and bury them both together somewhere far away from this terrible place in case they don't survive." There was no need to give her an accurate description of their actual conversation.

Leone remained silent after that, not so much as blinking as she gave Archer a long, measuring stare as they ran across the streets with Akame doing so as well.

"...I know a good place. It's a little bit of a trek to get there, but it has a good view. And there's no sign of the Capital anywhere you look. You'll see it when we get there."

Archer nodded. "Let's hope I won't have to go to the place carrying either of them."

"You're a nice guy, aren't you?"

"Not one bit," he said, not liking how she was grinning at him like that.

Archer and the group ran up the walls just in time to watch the very edge of the sun peak over the horizon. Time passed faster than he would have liked, good thing they didn't remain for any longer or hiding within the cover of the night inside the Capital would have been impossible.

Leone looked at Akame, a silent message exchanged between both of them. "Hey, uh... Listen, I know some people, and I honestly think you should come and meet them. So, wha'dya say? I know they'll want to meet you, you're famous for hunting Danger Beasts after all. They're all great people, in case you were wondering."

Seriously, whatever Teigu that was, Leone just couldn't let him go any time soon. Her boss would literally jump with joy if a guy like Archer with a powerful Teigu were to join their ranks. Though, she might not jump around, but she'd definitely be very happy about it and him going this far to help strangers just further cemented her decision.

"I suppose I should at least hear you out, seeing that you were kind enough to help me put these two to rest despite having no such obligation."

.

.

.

Should he have told her about his relationship with that person? A bit surprising she never talked about him, he thought she'd bring him up at every conversation like she used to do with many people in the past. Hopefully the passing years made her more mature... he didn't want to deal with a clingy brat again who treated him as a fragile vase.

This was the single thought coursing through Archer's mind as he stared at their destination. "A fortress built underneath a cliff and hidden away by the surrounding fauna... at least it's clever." To be fair, it was far out in the wilderness, and a good distance away from any settlements or paths. But all it would take for this location to be compromised was a single person who could've been in the area for... well, any number of reasons really. One look at this place, and it would be pretty obvious even to the biggest idiot in the Empire that the location Leone and her acquaintances lived was a secret base.

It suited her taste the more he looked at it. Clever with the right amount of ridiculousness and stupidity. Nevertheless, it worked and that was all that mattered.

Upon entering the hideout, they were greeted by a small woman outside the entrance keeping watch, someone even younger looking than Akame, with pink hair fashioned into long pigtails and an angry glare. He got taken aback a bit with the rather... pinkish choice of clothing for an assassin. But then again, he'd seen other Heroic Spirits were much worse in the past.

"About time you got back, Leone, how long does a simple scouting mission take? And who's the weird guy following you? He'd better not be some useless idiot you grabbed off the streets of the Capital just 'cause you think he's cute or something." She exclaimed, earning an amused reaction from Archer who decided to wait and let Leone do the talking.

The blonde smiled good-naturedly before replying, an action that informed Archer that this was the kind of behavior he should typically expect from Pinkie.

"Oh don't you worry Mine, once the gang sees what handsome here is made of, I don't think anyone's gonna have any complaints about him joining us."

"So he is a newbie," the newly named Mine growled before shifting her full attention to him. She then proceeded to stare at Archer for exactly one second before turning around. "Unsatisfactory," she declared. "It's obvious from the get-go that he's not cut from the same cloth as the rest of us professionals."

Archer merely raised an eyebrow at the obvious attempt to get a rise out of him. Unfortunately for Mine though, he'd thrown away his pride as a warrior a long time ago.

Which is why he instead turned to Leone. "So when do I meet with the person around here who's opinion actually matters?"

That earned him a laugh from the woman he was speaking to, and a squawk of indignation from the one he'd ignored.

"Very soon, if we're lucky. I'm gonna go give my report to the boss right now; you should be called in not too long after that. In the meantime, you two stay here and play nice with each other." Leone grinned before walking off to another part of the base.

As soon as she was out of sight, Mine walked right up to him and jabbed her finger into his chest. "Listen here you, you may have impressed the bimbo, but don't think that's gonna be enough to make you one of us! My word carries a lot of weight around here I'll have you know, so I'd advise you to star-" Her tirade was cut off when the door slammed open, with Akame returning.

"They are being looked after," she said, having gone off to call forth some healers and doctors as the group agreed to. Leone and him both left Ieyasu and Sayo inside a small cabin near the fortress.

"Thanks."

"Akame?" Mine blinked. "Ah, you were with them as well? I thought you went for your morning hunting trip. But why are you bringing him inside the base?"

Akame shifted her red eyes over to the one who'd addressed her. "He killed the Kalrenns before we could."

Before Mine managed to say give an answer, the hall rumbled with a low growl coming from Akame's stomach. Both Archer and Leone looked at the girl who kept a straight face. "I'm going out for a bit."

She turned back and proceeded to walk outside.

Mine's eye twitched. "There she goes hunting... that woman's hunger is insatiable. I don't even know whether I should consider her a human with how much she consumes daily."

"Woah there! Hold your horses Akame." Unfortunately for the famished assassin, Leone quickly grappled onto her shoulders and pulled her back as the latter showed a look of betrayal. "Hey, don't give me that look missy. You're the one who suggested bringing him over so you'll be the one doing all the talking with the boss."

"I'm hungry."

"Good, then let's get over this quickly." Akame continued to stare at her friend, completely silent. After twenty seconds, her eyes shifted to Archer.

"Hey, don't look at me as if it's my fault."

"Just some newbie who managed to fool these two into thinking he's got what it takes to be an assassin." Mine interjected silently, not that Archer cared all that much as he was still deep in thought.

After all, if this place belonged to Night Raid, then that also meant...

***

Najenda, the leader of Night Raid, sat upon her chair that really functioned as more of a throne as she stared down the operative in front of her.

"Finally back, you two? Is there a reason you took longer getting back from your mission than I expected, or did you see fit to take a detour so that you could enjoy yourself again? Though I hope that's not the case with you as well, Akame."

Leone smiled, though it was a little forced this time. "Boss, I can personally assure you that the reasons for my being late are completely legitimate this time. And Akame over here is not at fault at all, we were just being cautious."

"I'll decide if that's really the case after you explain them to me. Now, your report."

Leone scratched the back of her head. "Right, the report. Okay, so there's the report itself, then a bit of what could be seen as bad news, but also what I call a lot of good news."

Najenda's eyes narrowed. "It was a simple scouting mission to determine whether or not Earl Kalrenn and possibly his family needed to be designated as targets for our group. What could possibly have happened during a mere evaluation?"

With that, Leone began to weave her tale. "Okay, so I showed up at the Capital and gathered information with Akame here helping me. Didn't take long to find out the truth as the Earl's daughter tends to be open with her favorite... pastime. Everyone knew the truth so after confirming it, both of us decided to proceed with the mission and take the Karlenns out."

Najenda then turned to look at Akame, expecting her side of the report as well.

"The manor exploded and everyone died." Her answer couldn't be anymore blunt which threw Najenda off immensely as it took her a few seconds to process those words. She immediately glared at Leone who flinched at those chilling eyes staring at her soul.

"Leone, why did you resort into using bombs for a stea-"

"Whoa! Whoa! Boss, I'm not at fault here!" The blonde shouted, putting her hands up in mock defeat. "The thing blew up before we could even set foot inside the damn place. Another man got to them first before we could."

Najenda was beginning to look somewhat flabbergasted. "One man?"

Despite how chaotic and eccentric her subordinate was, Najenda knew Leone's character more than anyone here and never doubted the latter's sincerity. She messed around often but never lied when it came to the mission. So for a man to blow up a mansion... Why did it sound so familiar?

"Did he have a Teigu?"

"Actually, we are not sure, he never confirmed it and ignored us whenever we asked him. But there is a good chance that he has one." Leone shrugged, her words making Najenda feel more and more familiar with the description of this person. "Anyway, so I go to say hi to this guy, even though Akame got to him first. Don't know how she knew where he was."

"I saw his shadow."

"Yeah, that."

Najenda wanted to facepalm when BOTH of her operatives admitted to blowing their own cover like that, but she refrained from doing so. "And after introducing myself, the guy says to call him Archer."

"..."

"Well, at first I thought this Archer fellow was perhaps another fake. But given Akame was the one who found him interesting, that thought didn't last long in my head - unless he's really good at faking his identity and we got super unlucky. Anyway, he was kind enough to take out most of the guards, those who worked for the Karlenns and the patrolling officers. Gotta say, that man sure is fast on his feet, even I doubt I could have taken all of those people down within that short amount of time

Najenda couldn't stop the left side of her mouth from twitching downward. The more she listened, the more certain she got about his identity, like... who else would it be but him?

"That being said, you'll be happy to know that while he was busy killing the guards, I took the time to rob anything remaining from that inferno and also the guardsmen. Brought back quite a bit of gold if I do say so. Good thing I did too, cause that Archer dude was in a hurry to save two survivors he found from the manor. Honestly, I doubt they'll survive even with our best doctors."

Well, that took care of lost funds at least.

"Finally, you won't believe this, but it's Akame here who went out of her way to invite the dude here. Can you believe this!? Ha! Even, I was having a hard time believing it. So I invited him back to the hideout as well, and luckily we seem to have made a good impression because he agreed! We left him in the main room with Mine, if you want to meet him."

'It appears that I'll have to have another chat with her regarding proper procedure for an assassin.' Najenda thought before deciding to move on with this conversation and also, she needed to see him with her own eyes - it'd been so many years since she last saw him. It was her duty to look after him, she promised her father to take upon this role when he first brought that child to the house. "Bring him in, along with the others. If he is going to be joining us, he should meet everyone right away." Plus, this was the best opportunity as any other to formally introduce him to the rest of the group.

With an enthusiastic nod, Leone rushed off to gather the rest of Night Raid, along with their possible new recruit.

Archer was the last person to step into the large meeting room, with several people standing at each of his flanks and a woman seated at a solitary chair at the far end. Every battle instinct implored him to assess each of the threats and plan for contingencies, but the former Counter Guardian found himself incapable of doing any of that as there was no need for it. All he did right now was stare at the person whose presence demanded his attention.

He really hadn't changed in the slightest from how he used to be. He was still a sentimental fool.

At that moment, Leone apparently saw fit to invade his personal space and start messing up his hair like he was some kid.

"What's gotten into you, Archer? You see a pretty face and you freeze up? In that case, I want to know why you didn't look at me like that the first time we met."

She stepped back and turned to face the rest of her group. "Sorry about that, I promise that he's not usually like... Boss?"

At that the rest of Night Raid looked over to their leader, only to see that Najenda had walked over to him the instant Leone had removed her hand from Archer's head.

The whole team was about to erupt into a string of statements that consisted of either concern for their leader or accusations against the new arrival, but were stopped when she crossed her arms with an annoyed expression.

"You have some nerves running away from home for this many years and come back to me without having sent a single letter, dear brother."

Her words caused everyone to gasp with shock as Archer showed a simple gentle smile.

"You haven't changed, Najenda."

"Call me sister."

"In your dreams." He said with a dry tone, but still let her wrap her arms around him. "Yeah, still the same as ev-gah!"

Bam!

Spit flew out of his mouth as a heavy fist struck his stomach, his body flying backwards till it impacted the wall hard enough to have cracks spread.

"I hugged you because I missed you, and that's for leaving the house for years without telling me anything or even attempting to get into contact with me. Do you even realize how worried we all were!?"

"... yeah, I deserve it." Emiya said, holding his stomach as he got up. Her punches were as devastating as ever. "Sorry about that."

"As you should be, and it'll take more than a sorry to make up for everything." She said, going back to her seat as he recovered from the surprise attack. Part of him knew what was going to happen, and another part of him knew he deserved it, thus didn't bother putting up his guard.

The following seconds, chaos erupted with some of the members as they couldn't believe the sight before them.

"Brother!? SISTER!?"

-------------------

The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.