Gozuki: "Your work is very important. Eat all you can to build up energy for your next mission." He sat at the head of the table, while overlooking the current present members of the Elite. "Well, I suppose I don't even need to tell you that." He concluded with a sigh as he witnessed this display before him.

Cornelia and Dairoku were eating normally, as usual, but as for Kuraime, Akame and Poney however, they were going to town, devouring any piece of meat they could get their hands on.

Akame: "I never knew meat could be this good!"

Kuraime: "I know right!? I wish Chief and Guy could have some too."

Cornelia: "Why don't you two put some in a lunchbox and take it into the mountains?"

Dairoku: "There wouldn't be a point. Cause those two would end up eating everything anyways." He answered, with the two Ravenettes gritting their teeth and stabbed their forks into a piece of meat each.

Akame and Kuraime: "He's not wrong!!" They exclaimed together while the blonde just sweat dropped.

Cornelia: "Why don't you two try learning self-control?"

Gozuki: "Well then..." The chaos at the table subsided as the man stood up from his seat. "I'm going to a meeting to discuss our next move. Until I get back, pretend to be normal children. Cornelia, you're in charge while I'm gone."

Cornelia: "Huh? Not Dairoku?"

Dairoku: "I mean, it's four girls and one guy here. I can't exactly watch the four of you everywhere you go. The Hot springs for example." He said with a shrug as Gozuki nodded in agreement. The blonde teen looked back at the man before she smiled and nodded.

Cornelia: "Leave it to me, papa!"

>Chapter 9: Assassins<

Cornelia rose with a quiet yawn, the rising moon's rays shining through the window of her bedroom. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced towards the other girls that shared the room with her, Poney, Akame, Kuraime. The two ravenettes were cuddling together and clinging onto each other. It was how they always slept together ever since they grew to be close friends. They were almost like inseparable sisters, which was ironic considering they both are older sisters and do both look like each other.

Cornelia's thoughts: "Should I go to the bath...?" She questioned herself, looking at the two ravenettes with a smile. "It's almost dawn, so there shouldn't be anyone there." She made her way towards the changing room, where she began to strip down. "I wonder if papa is in a meeting right now. Chief isn't here and since there's more of us girls than guys here, I must step up and be the leader."

With the thoughts of her now being the leader of the Elite for this brief period on her mind, she stepped out to the Hot Springs, ready to take a dip. Before she stepped in, however, she gasped, spotting what looked like a black-haired girl lying in the water, motionless.

Cornelia: "Someone's drowning!?" With her acting on her instincts to help others in trouble, the blonde leaped into the water. "Are you alright!?"

The black-haired girl coughed from the sudden wave of water that splashed on her face before she looked up at the blonde, her lime-green eyes locking with hers. It was only then that Cornelia realized that she had jumped too quickly to conclusions.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cornelia: "Um.... I was too quick to jump to conclusions... sorry." She sheepishly laughed with a bottle of milk in her hands. Cornelia sat next to Taeko, both now out of the water and in kimonos.

Taeko: "No... I was in a misleading posture. I apologize. I thought that no one would be here if I came in the middle of the night."

Cornelia: "Yeah, exactly! I came too because I had the same thought!" The ravenette looked towards her.

Taeko: "My name is Taeko. I am traveling with my grandmother to understand the world better." The blonde smiled happily.

Cornelia: "I'm Cornelia. I'm a disciple of the Kouken Temple, and I'm on a training journey throughout the country." The ravenette's expression displayed amazement and shock upon hearing this.

Taeko: "The Kouken Temple...? Amazing." She then took a drink from the milk bottle she had before letting out a refreshed sigh. "The milk here is delicious. And their cuisine, too. This is a great in." A series of giggles began to come from the blonde fighter, causing the ravenette to look at her confused. "What is it?"

Cornelia: "You remind me of two friends of mine, Taeko."

Taeko: "Oh, in that group you were with in front of the Inn?"

Cornelia: "Yeah, them. They're all asleep right now though."

Taeko: "Friends you say? That sounds wonderful. They must be exciting and fun to have." She glanced down, with a bittersweet smile on her face. "I have almost no friends. I do have my grandmother, though." Cornelia looked surprised for a moment before she smiled.

Cornelia: "Taeko, will you be staying in the Inn for a while?"

Taeko: "It depends on my grandmother, but that is my plan." The blonde's smile only grew.

Cornelia: "Then if you're fine with me, why don't we talk again? We'll be here for a while too."

The ravenette seemed surprised. She hasn't even been at this Inn for a day and yet, here came this blonde beauty, who at first had intentions of 'saving' her from 'drowning', and now is offering to hang out with her more in future days. It... brought a genuine and happy smile to her face. Cornelia lifted her glass.

Cornelia: "Nice to meet ya!"

Taeko: "Thank you." They clanged their bottle together, as a toast to their newly forged friendship.

Akame: "Oh, Corey, I thought you'd be here." The two girls looked over and spotted an awoken Akame approaching them, with Kuraime behind her, rubbing her eyes.

Cornelia: "Oh, Akame, Kuraime." She smiled. "Let me introduce you two. This is Taeko, I just became friends with her."

Kuraime: "Oh? You made a new friend already?" She looked to the lime-eyed girl, with Akame following her gaze. The two lightly bowed their heads, to which Taeko mimicked their greeting.

Akame and Kuraime: "Greetings."

Taeko: "Greetings." Then, the other two ravenettes of the Elite began to make their way towards another room.

Cornelia: "You two couldn't fall back asleep either?"

Kuraime: "No, we woke up with a purpose. Dawn is approaching. In other ways, breakfast is soon."

Akame: "We're going to exercise as much as we can beforehand, work up our appetites and eat as much as we can!"

Kuraime: "It's the least we can do to honor such a delicious meal!" Akame nodded intensely as the two held determined expressions while Cornelia sweat dropped and laughed.

Cornelia: "... Try not to eat all the food in the Inn. Otherwise, Dairoku would make sure the two of you would never eat for the rest of our stay here..." She said as the two left the room.

Taeko: "I'd like to meet your friends who remind you of me next." She smiled, while Cornelia just lets out a sheepish laugh as...

Cornelia's thoughts: "...That was them just now, through..."

>>Later<<

Pleased humming came from Cornelia as she was wrapping up a couple of lunchboxes with a pleasant smile on her face. The other girls all looked up at her, with Poney looking a bit confused at her more than happy mood.

Cornelia: "I just made some lunchboxes with the local cuisine, so I'm going to go give them to Chief and Guy."

Poney: "You look like you're in a good mood, Corey."

Akame: "Corey made a friend this morning." Poney looked surprised but interested.

Cornelia: "She seems like a great, interesting person. I'll introduce her to you guys later." She said as she turned around to begin walking when Kuraime called out.

Kuraime: "If you're heading to the mountains, you want me to come along?" She asked, while taking a sip from her cup of tea. Before the blonde even had a chance to reply, the door to the room slammed open as Guy poked his head in.

Guy: "It's only natural for a girl to be escorted by a man. I'll go." He grinned. Cornelia nearly screamed from the terror while Kuraime and Poney both looked surprised and Akame just looked at him.

Girls: "Guy!?"

Poney: "Where did you come from!? Wait, aren't you supposed to be in the mountains!?"

Guy: "It's not like my face is known to our enemies, so I was investigating the town."

Poney: "Oh really? That's great, Guy!" She beamed while Cornelia and Kuraime merely facepalmed.

Kuraime: "(-_-) So you just went in the brothels..."

Cornelia: "That's the highest probability..." She sighed before she heard footsteps approaching. She looked to her left and saw that Dairoku was entering the room. Instantly seeing her chance, Cornelia leapt to him. "Dairoku! Please accompany me to the mountains!"

Dairoku: "E-Eh?" He grunted as she had suddenly latched onto his arm, taking him and Guy by complete surprise. Akame and Poney also looked on in shock as the blonde clung into the raven-haired male. "U-Uh... Corey...?"

Cornelia: "Please!" She whisper-shouted as she slightly tilted her head towards Guy. Seeing her reason to doing this, Dairoku sighed and nodded.

Dairoku: "Alright then, I'll tag along."

Guy: "What the—!?"

Cornelia: "Thank you!" She instantly began to drag him away by the arm. "Oh and you're in charge until we're back, Akame!" She announced.

Dairoku: "O-Ow! Corey not so hard on the arm!" He grunted as he was dragged away. There was silence in the room before Guy stuttered and stumbled out after them.

Guy: "H-Hold on now! The fuck, Dairoku!"

Poney: "W-What just happened?"

Akame: "I... don't know. Do you know what happened Kuraime?" She asked but received no response. She looked towards the fellow ravenette with a tilted head. "Kuraime?" The purple-eyed teen finished taking a sip from her cup before she slowly lowered it, with her just holding the biggest smug grin on her face.

Kuraime: "Oh I definitely don't know~"

Poney: "That's hard to believe with that face of yours..."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On a trail through the mountains, leading to the location of the comrades was the trio of Cornelia, Dairoku, and Guy, with the latter trailing behind the two of them while constantly pestering the blonde.

Guy: "Hey, Cornelia, why don't you just become my girlfriend already?"

Cornelia: "I already told you many times, no!" She firmly declared while Dairoku just sighed, wondering why he had to be dragged into this.

Guy: "Cornelia, everyone looks up to you and calls you 'Corey', and you dote on them but..."

Dairoku: "What are you getting at?" He glanced back at him.

Guy: "What I'm getting at is, I bet she actually wants to be doted on too, don't you Corey? I can tell!" He declared. Dairoku blinked and glanced at the Blonde, who looked off while falling silent.

Cornelia's thoughts: "Ugh... He's not wrong, but..."

Dairoku: "Huh. I guess for once he does have a point. You do seem like they type that really likes the attention everyone gives you." He pointed out with him stroking his cheek. Before she even had a chance to defend herself, Guy yelled out.

Guy: "And this! Is where I, the embodiment of compassion and understanding, come in!" He flexed his muscles, with Dairoku rolling his eyes.

Dairoku: "If you actually understood anything, you would have gotten the picture already and stop lusting after Corey already."

Cornelia: "Thank you!" She exclaimed.

Guy: "Oh don't give me that bullshit! I see what you're trying, Dairoku." The raven-haired male crossed his arms as he continued walking forwards with the blonde by his side.

Dairoku: "And what exactly am I trying you pig-headed dumbass?"

Guy: "You're trying to steal Corey all for yourself, aren't you? I've seen how you look at her and with you suddenly agreeing to come along on this walk. You're after her too! It's obvious you want a piece of the pie!"

Dairoku was a bit taken aback by this as he was about to retaliate with a statement but... found himself struggling to. Instantly, that same image of him and Cornelia at the river invaded his mind, causing him to lightly blush. He took a slight glance at the blonde and saw that she was intentionally hiding her expression from him, which displayed her reddened cheeks before he growled an shook his head.

Dairoku: "H-Huh? The fuck are you on about??"

Guy: "Ah! You didn't even deny it! Well if you wanna try and steam my Cornelia from me then let's slug it out right now!"

Dairoku: "Oh for fuck sakes, I'm not going to fight you Guy. And Corey isn't yours either. She belongs to no one. She decides who she wants to be with and there's nothing anyone can do about that. Whoever that lucky guy ends up being, will have one hell of a girlfriend, that I can say. End of discussion." He closed his eyes out of frustration. Cornelia looked back at him silently, feeling her chest slightly tighten and her face heat up from his words. "Now, let's hurry up and—"

The three of them suddenly paused their movements and instantly looked to their left. It felt as if they were being watched but all they could see were a bunch of trees and mountains.

Dairoku: "You guys felt that?"

Cornelia: "Yeah... It's like we're being watched..." They looked around carefully, trying to spot anyone but couldn't.

Guy "Maybe it was just our imagination." He said before Dairoku glanced towards a specific tree that had a white fog that dissipated around it.

Dairoku's thoughts: "Wait... has that tree always been there...?" He stared at it a bit more as Cornelia looked at him.

Cornelia: "Dai?" He sighed and shook his head.

Dairoku: "I'm probably just paranoid. Let's move. But we should hurry. Anything could happen while we're out here alone." He said and began to walk away, with the two instantly following after him.

Hidden as the tree the raven-haired male was staring at was nonother than Chelsea, who's heart was racing from feeling Dairoku's piercing glare on her.

Chelsea's thoughts: "T-That was close... She was right. Only I could have tailed them because of my transformation... Good call, Granny."

Later during the day, the auburn-haired girl made her way back to her group and instantly began to relay the information she gathered to them. While Barbara didn't seem shocked in the slightest, Taeko however had a look of pure disbelief.

Taeko: "... No..."

Chelsea: "I confirmed it. I saw them hand the lunchboxes to the glasses guy and the other one in person. But please be careful. It took a lot of concentration to tail them, so they're definitely strong! Especially that guy with the black hair. It almost felt like he was staring directly into my soul. He's aura was as intense as that blonde guy."

Barbara: "Well done. You can rest now, Chelsea. You heard her Taeko. We'll jump on this opportunity that Chelsea gave us." She looked at the ravenette whose eyes were shadowed by her hair. "I'll go into the mountains and take the men apart. That blonde brat is supposedly tough. You take care of the group in the in but be careful around that black-haired boy." Silence fell over Taeko as her mind was racing with thoughts and memories, of the short time she spent with Cornelia. She gritted her teeth and clenched the blade in her hand before she answered.

Taeko: "Understood..."

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Next Chapter: Fight to the Death