*Northern area of the empire, Taigen Town*

Sabatini: "Ladies and gentlemen! Next, please welcome Sabatini's Promising Duo, and please enjoy their acrobatic balance show! Here, we have Akame-Chan and Dairoku-Kun, who will be doing their best!"

Stepping up onto the stage were the two teenagers in question, being Akame, the scarlet-eyed ravenette and Dairoku, the crimson-eyed black-haired boy, both wearing bright smiles on their faces while waving to the crowd.

Akame: "Hello, I'm Akame!"

Dairoku: "And I'm Dairoku! Nice seeing you all today!"

The crowd went wild as the pair began their performance. The two early teenagers juggled knives, at incredible speeds and precision, however Dairoku was taking it up a notch a bit as his knives were completely engulfed in flames, but he and his partner would trade knives in between juggles, throwing them to each other like it was second nature to them.

Sabatini: "Amazing! Keep going!"

Random guy 1: "They're still just little kids, but they're so amazing."

Random guy 2: "They look good, too. Looking forward to seeing how they grow up." To say the crowd was impressed, was an understatement. Seeing young children able to pull off such dangerous stunts that adults may suffer with, with little to no effort.

Sabatini: "Now you may be wondering, how can these newcomers pull off such moves!? They were part of a different traveling entertainment group before! After they lost their parents in an accident, they were looking for another group. And that's when they ran into us!"

The pair ended their act with Akame leaping into the air with plates balancing on stick and Dairoku throwing the flaming knives into the air before stretching out his arms for her to land on top of his shoulders and the knives all stuck the ground around them in a perfect circle, with their flames being instantly extinguished. Excited cheers came from the crowd as fast as the money came in, which was a lot considering their outstanding performance.

After the show had concluded, the pair along with their leader headed back towards their tent, where the rest of their group was.

Sabatini: "Our show was a success in this town, too. Travelling entertainers can barn a lot of money in times like these."

Amuria: "And the addition of the new kids were huge!"

Natalia: "Yep, they make a good intro. They hype up the main event, my dance, too."

Sabatini: "Even if it's the truth, the way they joined us works in our favor too. We can get a lot of sympathy money because of Akame and Dairoku."

Dangan: "...We have to think of the best way for us to use them, Kouga."

Kouga: "...Yeah."

Outside of said tent, the children in question were polishing the knives. As Dairoku finished with the one he held, he ran his finger along the flat side of the blade, before his partner called out to him.

Akame: "Dairoku..." He looked towards her, to see her polishing her knife. "We got a message while we were performing earlier."

Dairoku: "Did we now? So, what did Father say?"

Akame: "He said that, 'There's a very good chance that the target will take the bait tomorrow'."

Dairoku: "Hmm... Talk about soon... Welp, better prepare ourselves for when the times comes then."

Akame: "Aren't you nervous?" She looked at him, to see him rest down the knife on the table.

Dairoku: "We've dealt with worse than these idiots. We'll be fine." His response displayed no emotion, not even regret for referring to the entertainment group in such a way. Though, Akame wasn't surprised at all by his behavior, considering he acts like that whenever on missions or dealing with people he considers annoying. However, she could tell that he was a bit fond of a very few of the members, which is rare for him. "But it doesn't hurt you to be nervous." She looked slightly shocked that he figured her out so effortlessly, but looked away, sighing a bit.

Akame: "Yeah... I'm nervous, and... I'm getting hungry."

Dairoku: "Oh boy, please control the beast... I don't wanna deal with her when we're not back at base." He sweat drops while looking at her.

Akame: "Hey, I'm not that bad!"

Dairoku: "You ate our entire food supply first day after being dispatched... and don't even get me started with how you are back at home..." He deadpanned at her. The ravenette blushed and pouted while slapping his shoulder playfully.

Akame: "I hate you."

Dairoku: "Ha! I love you too, Strawberry." He smirked while crossing his arms. Though in the middle of their bickering, Amuria approached them.

Amuria: "It's about time we started making dinner. Akame-Chan, you can have seconds today!" Immediately, the scarlet eyed glutton's eyes sparked.

Akame: "Really, Amuria!?"

Dairoku: "And there she goes again..."

Amuria: "Master said good things about you two. You're a big help to us.

Dairoku: "Actually, it's the other way around. Without you guys, we'd be on the streets, begging right now. So we're thankful to you guys." He said, waving off her compliment.

Amuria: "Since you joined us last month, we've definitely earned a lot more money. Be more proud of yourselves." She complimented them again, which this time caused the two partners to smile at each other.

Kouga: "We're going to the next town tomorrow." He announced as he exited the tent, a small barrel over his right shoulder. "We'll be leaving at sunrise. We'll want to be in the next town by nightfall, just to be save."

Dairoku: "Because of the Bandits of the Shiranami Mountains, correct?"

Kouga: "Yeah. Even some of the northern tribe has joined them. They just do whatever they like. We're pretty far from the Shiranami mountains, so we'll probably be fine, but, just to be extra safe..."

>>Time Skip<<

The next day the group was travelling via horse carriage. Dairoku was sitting next to Akame with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, seemingly asleep while she poked his hair, seemingly in curiosity. But something rudely awakened the boy, the sound of Dangan's dramatic behavior.

Dangan: "Oh... shit... It's happening... It's happening soon! Everyone, get away from me!! Run away!!!"

Kouga: "...Humph. It's just motion sickness, isn't it? You're so melodramatic."

Amuria: "Are you okay?"

Natalia: "Geez... you're so big, but so pathetic."

(A/N: "Can we get a Lenny in the chat?")

Dangan: "Ugh...!" He glared at her before grabbing a long flexible object before tossing it at her while shouting, "Woah!! A snake!!!"

Natalia: "KYAH!!!" Immediately, she dashed and leaped onto Dairoku, hugging him tightly in fear as he deadpanned, feeling slightly uncomfortable, but just picked up the object, revealing it to be...

Dairoku: "Calm down, Nat... It's just a piece of rope..." He patted her back a bit

Natalia: *blushing* "O-Oh..." she blushed in embarrassment and before she growled at Dangan and pounced on him, putting him into a choke hold. "Why you bastard!!!"

Dagan: "GAAAAH!"

Kouga: "Of course this would be the outcome. Why are you such a bald idiot...?"

Akame: "Um, Dagan?" She approached him, before handing a herb to him. "These herbs are great for motion sickness. Take them."

Dagan: "Ooh! Thanks, Akame!"

Amuria: "Isn't that valuable to you? Are you sure?"

Dairoku: "We created it from herbs on the roadside. Won't hurt to give it to him." He shrugged while Akame nodded.

Amuria: "You're both so kind." She said as she rubbed the ravenette's head, who smiled a little though it was forced while Dairoku just shook his head. However, the sudden halting of the carriage, alerting the group immediately.

Kouga: "What's going on!?" He quickly dashed towards the exit, grabbing a sword in the process. However when he got outside, his eyes widened upon spotting, an army of Bandits. *thoughts* "The bandits of Shiranami Mountains!!"

Bandit 1: "Kehehe... So this is the famous traveling show-group." The others also exited the carriage, only to realize the predicament they've ended up in. "Ah, and there are lots of beautiful ladies, too." He specifically looked smugly as Amuria, Natalia and Akame.

Bandit 2: "So we can loot both money and women. I'm glad we took this excursion."

Sabatini's thoughts: "Wh... Why are bandits in a place like this...!? There's no choice but to fight!" *out loud* "Everyone, grab a weapon!"

Dagan: "Akame, Dairoku! Get behind me!!" He along with Kouga got in front of the group, their weapons in hand and ready to fight

Bandit 1: "Oh? You want to fight? Well, the outcome will be the same either way. but."

Bandit 2: "Can we just go with the usual routine then, boss?"

Bandit Boss: "Yeah. Kill all the men. As for the women, cut their ankle tendons so they can't run away, and capture them." He commanded, wearing a disgusting grin that, caused a tick of anger to pop up on Dairoku's head.

Sabatini: "Yo... You bastards...!" However, the scarlet-eyed ravenette was the first to approach the bandits, holding a wrapped up object in her left hand.

Akame: "Do you... do all these things, like the rumors say?"

Kouga: H-Hey! Akame...!" He reached out for her, however, unknowing to them, the young boy in the group, had an ominous aura surrounding him.

Bandit Boss: "Ahn? Of course! Our bandit group even silences crying girls! We'll capture you two, little girl and make you out toilet-" However, he was immediately cut off by the ravenette, unsheathing a sleek katana from the wrapped object, and slashing him directly down the chest.

Akame: "Then I will Eliminate you." Immediately, everyone gained widened eyes from the girl's speed and skill with the blade

Bandit 1: "Wha... What do you think you're doing, you brat!? Use the guns!! Shoot her!!!"

The Bandits aimed their gun at Akame, who wasn't the least bit concerned as a flaming bullets caused blood to splatter from their skulls, the shot coming from Dairoku, who pointed a massive black and red sword at them, but in its blade was a smoking muzzle that was then hidden by the blade closing up and the handle flipping up, making it an actual large blade that was almost as tall as the boy himself.

Dairoku: "You might wanna take that back... Scum." His voice was filled with venom, but what shook them to their cores was the grin he had on as he began to laugh quietly. Showing off a fang. "Or the rest of you will die." The rest of the entertainment group were shocked to say the least, but decided to go along.

Sabatini: "F-Follow those two!! We can do this!!"

The ensuing battle went as expected, with Akame and Dairoku leading the attack against the bandits with ease. By the end of it all, they were successful and made it to the next town by nightfall. They were currently inside of their tent, celebrating the victory.

Sabatini: "Well, well... not only did we kill all the bandits that attacked us, but not a single one of us died!"

Natalia: "I knew you two were athletic, but I didn't think you were that good in fights.

Akame: "To be honest, the Danger Beasts that we hunted in the mountains were much tougher." She commented as she was munching on a chicken leg while her partner shrugged.

Dairoku: "That's an understatement. I barely had to try against those dumbasses."

Natalia: *sweat drops* "...Growing up in the wild must have been crazy."

Dairoku: "Crazy doesn't even describe it..."

Kouga: *smiles* "Thanks. Because you two fought for us, everyone made it out okay."

Amuria: "We're really grateful for you Akame-Chan, Dairoku-Kun. Thanks a lot!"

Sabatini: "Alright, I've decided!" They all looked towards him, to see him stand up. "Let's have you two join our cause!"

Kouga: "Isn't that... a bit too soon?"

Amuria: "They're just kids!"

Sabatini: "Yeah, it doesn't have to be now. But I want to at least explain who we are." The two children looked at the debating adults, before at each other with slight confusion before the leader himself walked up to them. "... Hey Akame, Dairoku. At first, we wanted to entrust you two to another show-group as soon as we found one. The reason for that is because on the outside, we're a travelling show-group, but... we have a hidden identity."

Akame: "Hidden identity?"

Sabatini: "Yeah... Our group, all of us... are striving to change this country, agents of justice, you could say. We ask you, because of your skills... will you lend us your strengths in the future?" Akame seemed slightly shocked while Dairoku remained emotionless.

Kouga: "Right now, the Empire is rotten to the core. The citizens are struggling in poverty, but all the people in power do is chase after more money and power."

Dagan: "There are many other groups like us who are working to change this world.

Natalia: "We're one of those groups. We gather information by disguising ourselves as a travelling show-group and travelling from town to town."

Amuria: "I'm sorry. It's probably too much for you to understand right away, right? I'll explain it to you little by little, so think about it at your own pace, okay?" A dangerous shadow lingered over Dairoku's eyes as flames engulfed his left hand, creating a claw of flames before he jabbed it right into Amuria's belly, causing her to hunch over his shoulder spewing blood. "W-Why......?"

Dairoku: *sigh* "It truly is a shame...... you were such a kind-hearted person... almost like a big sister... Don't worry, the pain will go away soon."

Amuria: "D-Dairoku..." Was her last word as the boy dropped her onto the ground, her body fully going limp. The rest of the group was at a lost for words.

Natalia: "What are you...!?" She got her throwing blades ready but was interrupted by Akame slashing her hand clean off.

Akame: "Now we have evidence... Looks like you've hid yourselves well, but after hearing all those things..." then she slashed her back, ending her life swiftly.

Dairoku and Akame: "Target: Sabatini Group. Every member will be eliminated."

Sabatini: "You... could you two be... IMPERIAL SPIES!?" The two just stared at the remainder of the group, before Dairoku let loose a devilish grin, showing off his fang.

Dairoku: "Just like we planned."

Akame: "Right."

Dagan: "Akame!! You...!!!" He rushed at the ravenette, thrusting his spear forwards, but Dairoku quickly stepped in front of her and slashed his arms off, before stabbing him in his abdomen and making a horizontal slash to completely decapitate him from the waist down.

Dairoku: "And you... I found you annoying... so stay quiet." He said darkly before he cut a hole in the tent and took out a flare gun. "I'll signal the others." He said to his partner before firing the flare into the night sky. Not far from their current position, was a group of seven shadowed individuals.

???: "Let's go."

In the meanwhile, Akame stood in a standoff with Kouga, gripping her katana tightly.

Kouga: "Shit... we didn't do anything suspicious...!"

Akame: "We knew that we were being watched because you were cautious. That's why we became new members instead of investigating from the start."

Kouga: "You... Don't feel anything cutting us down!? For one month, we were in the same group together!!!" Akame's visual expression, showed that she was taken off guard was hesitating.

Akame: "Of course I do! How could I not feel anything!?"

Kouga: "Then..."

Akame: "We also! We also wanted you guys to be just a regular show-group... But, now that we know that you bring misery upon the people, we can't let you go." Kouga's expression expressed complete horror from her stone cold words, but rather than the tone he was horrified about... it was the meaning behind her words.

Kouga: "M-Misery...?"

Akame: "We'll make it quick and painless. I've been taught how to do that." Just hearing that made the man in front of her enraged more at the Empire.

Kouga: "Using a child like you... THAT DAMN EMPIRE!!!" Though he was quickly silenced by the ravenette who dashed towards him and slashed him across his chest. "I... I... I promised to change... the country..." Were his final words as he fell to the ground and Akame ended him with her blade in his heart.

Sabatini, who was still alive, watched the massacre of his entire team, mortified before making a break for the exit of the tent. Dairoku noticed and immediately chased after him however, immediately after exiting the tent, he was annoyed to see a sword's blade ripped right through Sabatini's chest, the wielder being a blonde boy with a serious expression.

Dairoku: "Tch... Damn you, Najasho..." He growled as the blonde shot him a cold glance.

Najasho: "Hmph... Take no prisoners." Four others, two girls and two other boys stood behind him

Revolutionist: "Who are they?"

Poney: "You criminals and anarchists who bring misery to the people!" She yelled, dashing out of nowhere and towards the said revolutionist.

Revolutionist: "You brat!" However, he was quickly silenced by her kicking him in his chin, breaking his neck and causing blood to fly from his mouth.

Poney: "I wonder if father is watching? I killed one!"

>>Later<<

Gozuki: "Great. You've killed every one of them. Great job completing a difficult mission, Dairoku, Akame." He said proudly, a hand on the boy's hand while he patted the ravenette's while the two smiled at him. "They couldn't help but reveal themselves and scout you two after seeing how strong you two were. You've put out another spark of war. You've done a great thing! Keep working for the country to bring happiness to everyone, just like this. Got it?"

Poney: "Yes, Father!"

Gozuki: "Mmm. Good girl."

*One thousand years since founding the Empire, because of the corruption of its government, had many rebellious groups across the nation. The Secret intelligence agency of the nation grew concerned, and therefore created a group of Assassins. The members were all innocent children raised as human weapons. They all believed that by for each life they took, they brought another life of happiness into the world, not knowing the tragic fate that awaited them... They are known as...*

The Elite

AKAME GA VENGEANCE ZERO!