He just stood there, stunned by the action she had done. What was he to do? Respond with the same action himself? He didn't harbor such feelings for her... Or did he?

He didn't know why, but ever since remembering certain points of his memories, he'd feel familiar feelings. Whenever he was around her, the feeling of joy, happiness, and other things were felt. Although they felt subtle inside, he could still feel them. And yet, he wasn't sure as to why he felt this way.

Akame would soon release the kiss that she brought upon him, Akira looking at her with a look of disbelief as a red hue coated her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't utter any words out. The two just stared at each other in silence. It wasn't until Akira broke that silence.

Akira: "Wha... Why? Why did you just do that?"

There was no anger in his tone of voice. Just curiosity. He was still trying to figure out the feeling himself. Akame then looked away.

Akame: "...There was a night that you ran off by yourself... When I found you, I remembered how hurt you were. We were going to escape with me, but something stopped us. But you..."

Akira: "I what?"

Akame: "You pushed me, but before that... You kissed me. I never understood what you meant back then, but I do now. I just want to return the feelings that I ignored for too long... Do you not remember?"

He could see the hopeful glint in her eyes. Her red eyes were mesmerizing as he continued to stare at them, already getting lost in them. But he couldn't remain lost at them as Akame was standing patiently in front of him, awaiting for his answer. Akira let out a small hum to himself, trying to remember a certain night that she was speaking about.

There was a night he seemed to remember, but only bits and pieces of them. Only fragments of the memory. He turned the other way, not looking at her.

Akira: "I'm sorry... I don't remember. Nor do I remember doing such a thing. Therefore... I...I cannot return those feelings."

Akira himself knew that just uttering those words hurt him, making him unsure why towards that feeling. He felt like he would regret it soon enough.

When he turned back to look at her, he was cut off by the look in her eyes. They were still mesmerizing, but they didn't have the hopeful glint. Instead replaced by something different. A painful look were in Akame's eyes as she began to slowly back up, the corner of her eyes having small amounts of tears watering up there. Seeing her saddened face made Akira feel guilty, him reaching out to extend his arm out to her.

Akira: "Akame--"

Akame: "No, it's okay. You're right. I shouldn't have said something that you wouldn't know about. And I shouldn't have initiated such a thing. If anything, I should be sorry. I'll be heading to bed now. Good night, Akira..."

Her voice trailed off when she said the last three words. She quickly flashed a smile, but a fake one at that. Akame quickly turned on her heels, hiding her face as she quickly made off to her room.

The black-haired teen continued to just stand there by the wall. His response hurt her, that much was certain. And yet, the feeling of pain and guilt welled up in his chest. What did those feelings mean to him? Why was feeling them?

...Why did they pertain to her? Why did he feel this way every time he was around her?

---

Akame had quickly opened the door to her room, and then slammed it shut. She fell face first onto her bed, crying into her pillow.

She did it. She made the action, thinking that it would reach him. She hoped that her feelings would reach and he would finally remember. But they didn't.

She thought they had grown closer. She tried everything to get him to remember, and yet nothing seemed to work. She flipped herself, facing upwards as she stared up at the ceiling. Tears were still streaming down her face as she clutched the item that hung around her neck, Akira's raven skull necklace. 

It was the most important item she had received that night. She still remembered that memory vividly, how it all went down.

She went to take on Merraid Oarburgh herself, but when she arrived, she found Merraid Oarburgh in a weakened state, presumable dead at first. But she also found a bloodied Akira, filled with stab wounds, slash marks, and bruises all over his body. He was leaning upon the sword of one of their dead comrades, something he had inherited when he was given the news of her death. But when Merraid was still alive, she used a last resort that she had still kept, explosive ants. 

Akame knew that they wouldn't both make it back, considering Akira's state at the time were slowing them down. But she didn't give up at trying, attempting to survive together. But he had other plans. It was during that night, Akame realized the feelings he kept to himself. He had kissed her that night, and at the time, she wasn't sure how to respond in that moment. And then he pushed her away, and he put up a wall of ice to separate himself from her. He did this to protect her from the explosive ants and he accepted his fate. And Akame was so desperate to save him that she tried to knock the wall down. Her efforts weren't enough. She watched as the wall came crumbling down, and he was nowhere to be found.

The raven skull necklace was the only thing she received of him that night.

---

Akira was still in the living room of the base. Everyone else was still partying and drinking. However, he seemed to be deep in thought.

He was knocked out of such thoughts when Leone sat down next to him, a bottle of booze in her hand. Her breath reeked of the alcohol, wrapping an arm around him as she began speaking to him, albeit her speech was slurred.

Leone: "Heyssh ther Akura... Why tha long faaacceee?"

Akira: "...Good to see you having fun, Leone."

Leone: "Caaarrre fur sumthin' to drriiinnk...?"

She lifts the bottle up to his face, a carefree smile on the lioness's face. Akira simple rolls his eyes as he shoves the bottle away, causing her to shrug and continue chugging the bottle herself. Akira then sighed.

Akira: "Hey, Leone..."

Leone: "Yeeessshh...?"

Akira: "If someone were to... Kiss you out of nowhere...what would you do?"

Leone: "Mmmeeee?? Wwweeeelll, I wudn't let anyone kiss wittle ole' me, but if it's sumone I liked, I'd kiss baacckk. Wwwwhhhhyyy do ya ask...?"

Akira: "...It's nothing. I'm just thinking too hard on something, that's all."

Leone: "Do ya wunt me to kiss you then...?"

Akira: "No, I'm quite alright."

Leone: "Yyyyoooouuu sssuuuurrreee? I can give ya qquuuiiittee the tiiimmmeeee.~"

Akira: (sigh) "I believe a walk will do me some good. Good night, Leone."

Leone: "Oookkkaaaayyy!~ Bbbuuh-bbbbyyyyeeee!"

He said his goodbyes to the rest of the people there, who had slurred speeches as well due to the amount of drinks they had drunk. 

Stepping onto the grass in the moonlight, Akira was left to his thoughts. But he noticed that he was walking through a small clearing, the pathway being illuminated by the bright moon. Flashes of the night Akame was referring to began to arise in his mind. He could see himself running through a somewhat similar pathway. He couldn't remember what he was chasing. 

It wasn't until he finally reached a clearing with a lake. He wasn't aware that there was a body of water like this close to the hideout. He then began to clutch his head, a jolt of pain surging through his head. The fragments he had previously seen began to piece themselves together. Small flashes of him fighting a dark-haired woman, him and her exchanging blows. A small fragment of the woman driving the same sword he wielded through him. Akira put a hand over his stomach, where he had experienced the wound before hand.

He then glanced up to somewhere in the treeline, remembering the woman had went up there and began to surround herself in a stringy fluid, forming a cocoon around her. And when the cocoon cracked, it revealed the woman had transformed, donning some features of a butterfly. Sounds of the battle begun to fill his ears, the memories and fragments becoming more prevalent as he began to remember them more. He could hear her voice, taunting him. The voices began to get louder as the visions and his other memories begin to flash in his mind. 

The memories that displayed his happiness, the amount of joy he felt spending with the Elite Seven. And the amount of despair and sadness, how he felt when he saw and was reported of his comrades deaths, the pain he felt through each mission, whether they were physical or mental. He wanted all of it to end. The suffering, the pain, the things he's ever done. Especially the guilt from all the innocents he's killed. 

However, he heard a voice call out to him, echoing throughout his mind. The voice familiar, it speaking with a gentle tone. Soothing, even. He recognized it. The girl he'd always see with raven black hair and blood red eyes. Once more, the memories began to connect. He began to remember each moment he spent with her, especially with how prevalent her smiles were. Of course he recognized them now. How could he forget? Tears began to stream down his face as he finally remembered who she was.

Akira: "...Akame..."

The black-haired teen's eyes then widened. He began to sense multiple souls heading towards Night Raid's base, all of them leaking with the intent to kill. He quickly stood up and gasped, reaching for the handle of his sword, only to find it wasn't there. He let out an annoyed grunt as he took off Harvester's key off his belt and summoned the weapon, dashing off back into the forest.

---

Moments after Akira had left the party, it began to die down. Leone, Tatsumi, and Lubbock had passed out in the living room due to how much they've drank. Aside from Akira not being in the room, Mine and Akame had all went to their own rooms.

Now, bottles of booze and beer were lying all over the floor, including food scraps and stains. Some of the food items had been tossed across the room, some of them on the walls and ceilings as well. Leone groggily woke up, rubbing her eyes as she took a look around the room.

Leone: (tiredly) "I guess I fell asleep... I bet everyone else did too... Aaahhh...~ Guess I'll go wash up and get ready to go to the Capital."

Getting up from the couch, Leone steps over a passed out Tatsumi, whom had some empty bottles next to him as well. She opened the sliding door that led to the outdoor baths. She was still sleepy, but kept walking forward and walked up to the pool, crouching down and splashing some warm water in her face.

But she soon gained a questionable look as she noticed something in the water. Almost as if there was a person under there.

That's when it clicked in her mind. Before she had time to react, a knife shot out from the pool, striking her in between the chest. The figure then leapt out of the spring and readjusted their hat, giggling to themselves as Leone fell face first into the water.

???: "Kee Hee! I did it, Master Stylish! Yours truly, Trauma, brought one down! I will proceed forth and continue with my mission!"

---

Overlooking Night Raid's base on a cliff was Dr. Stylish himself, along with his minions. One of them was a girl with large ears.

Mimi: "That is his report, Master Stylish."

Dr. Stylish: "Well done. Just as I'd expect from the Knight's role. He plunged right into enemy territory. Now. Team Stylish. Let the attack begin with passion and zest!"

Now, all of Stylish's soldiers had infiltrated Night Raid. Just the sudden attack woke all of them up. One of them crashed into Akame's room, the raven-haired girl being blocked from her Teigu that was near the door. She stood up on her bed and waited her chance to make a move, the Stylish soldier making incomprehensible groans as it lunged at her. Akame jumped over him, landing behind him and grabbing Murasame, taking it out of it's sheathe as she prepared to strike.

A wolf's growl could then be heard as Fenrir had come in through the open door and lunging it's teeth down onto the Stylish soldier's neck. The soldier tried to free itself, but Fenrir kept thrashing it's head around, biting down on the soldier's neck harder as blood began to pool out of the wounds. Akame then lands the finishing blow, stabbing the Stylish soldier in the heart. Fenrir would soon let go of the fallen victim's neck and look up at the red-eyed girl, barking and wagging it's tail happily. Akame simply smiled and petted the wolf's head, running out of the room and into the hallway with Fenrir following behind. She didn't bother to change out of her nightgown as there wasn't enough time.

---

Lubbock: "I'm getting chills. Shit! Where'd all these enemies suddenly come from!? And they're so near...!"

Lubbock was currently running through the halls as he was woken up from his sleep in the living room. The wires on his gauntlets were vibrating rapidly, signaling him that there were multiple enemies surrounding them.

He soon stopped as the wall ahead of him was blown open, one of Stylish's soldiers having crashed through it. It looked up at Lubbock, it's piercing gaze from under it's mask centered on him.

Lubbock: "So they've made it all the way inside..."

Stylish Soldier: "Enemy... Must kill!"

The Stylish soldier charged forward, reeling it's fist back and thrusting it forward with force. While Lubbock wasn't as fast as his other teammates, he was quicker than most, him dodging the attack and taking some of his wires, using them to have it wrap around the Stylish soldier's neck. He then had them twisted, using his wires to snap his neck as he clicked his tongue.

Lubbock: "Not good. I've got to join the others."

But the green-haired assassin was soon alarmed when he sees that the Stylish soldier wasn't killed, tilting it's head back. It then freed itself from Cross Tail's wires, facing Lubbock and swiping it's arms across, using it's nails as weapons. But the green-haired teen grinned, opening arms up to see wires were layered over his shirt, Lubbock having utilized his wires as armor.

Lubbock: "Threads can be used like this too!"

He then began to have them whip around his body, the Stylish soldier letting out a shriek as it bolted down the hall towards him. Lubbock then had his wires form into a spear, him throwing it as it was thrusted through the air. The wired spear then impales the Stylish soldier, sending it backwards.

Stylish Soldier: "Guh... To use them in such a way..."

Lubbock: "I run a bookstore. I've read about all sorts of ways to use threads in the manga at my shop."

The green-haired assassin then heard something behind him, turning his head around. He sees it was another Stylish soldier slowly crawling towards him.

Lubbock: "Hey, another one..."

Then more began to creep out from the shadows, making Lubbock nervous. If anything, he could only take on one person at a time, let alone a whole group. He'd be taken out in less than a minute.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he turned his head the other way, readying himself to run down the hall.

Lubbock: "And... Another... I...I'm not exactly... into the 'group brawl' thing... Later!"

And then he dashed down the hall, running as fast as he could. He then turned his head around slightly, only to see them chasing after him as well. They were even catching up, making him even more terrified.

However, a girl in a pink nightgown and a katana at her side leaped over the crowd, landing in front of him.

Akame: "Get behind me!"

Lubbock: "Akame!"

Akame: "Fenrir! Now!"

Beforehand, the raven-haired girl and Fenrir had passed by Akira's room, the wolf companion of the boy had grabbed the handle of Gin's blade with his mouth. The wolf then bolted through the crowd of Stylish soldiers in a spin attack-like motion, Akame then unsheathing Murasame as she swiftly dashes forward, cutting down the other half in one slice.

Lubbock: (whistles in amazement) "Woo-ee! That's the stuff!"

???: "For being the enemy... That's some impressive skill."

Lubbock: "Another new player!"

Fenrir began to growl in defense, holding the sword of Gin tightly in it's mouth. Just seeing the new person walking up to them made Akame gasp in surprise, knowing he was a strong opponent.

The man was being accompanied by two large men. The man himself had short black hair with blue eyes, a pair of glasses attached to his nose. Wearing a steel hat on his head, his clothes consisted of a blue cloak with yellow stripes, wearing a dark grey t-shirt underneath, pants, and brown shoes. 

Lifting his arms from behind his back, blades come out of his forearms, a grin on his face as he rushes forward.

Tobi: "My name is Tobi. My dream is to go one-on-one with Miss Akame!"

He then leapt forward, extending his feet out towards the raven-haired girl as blades appear out of his brown shoes. Akame quickly side-stepped to the left, dodging the attack from the black-haired man as she responded with an attack of her own, attempting to go for a clean strike to the chest.

But when she struck it, she didn't feel flesh. She turned around, seeing Tobi with a proud smirk on his face as he came out unscathed. What she struck was metal. His whole body was a machine. 

Lubbock called out to his assassin comrade, but was soon stopped by the large Stylish guards Tobi came with, their large stature looming over the green-haired teen. Fenrir stood at Lubbock's side, his growl getting louder as he prepared to pounce on them. Lubbock then clicked his tongue in annoyance as he lets his wires flow free around him, prepping himself to fight as well.

---

Outside in the forest, Akira was currently fighting his way back to Night Raid's base. Stylish's soldiers were all around him, but they weren't too much of a big deal for him. In fact, they were quite weak, him using his superior strength as he swiftly cut through their arms and decapitating their heads.

Strangely enough, Akira found some vials in the pockets of Stylish's soldiers. They seemed to contain a substance he wasn't aware of. Knowing Stylish, it could be poison, or anything really. He wasn't sure what it could used for, but he kept it anyway. Continuing to fight his way through, he arrived in the clearing in front of the base, Akira seeing Tatsumi charge forward through some of Stylish's soldiers. The black-haired teen sees what Tatsumi was charging at, a man holding a familiar scissor Teigu.

Tatsumi: "Give that... Back!"

The large man holding Extase, known as Kaku, readied the giant scissor to thrust it forward. But Tatsumi quickly ducked, grabbing the Teigu by one of it's handle. Kaku could feel the angered glare from Tatsumi under Incursio's cowl.

Tatsumi: "That belongs to Sheele!"

Kaku: "Huh!? Who's that!?"

He then shoulder bashes Tatsumi, shoving him off as the Incursio user skids across the ground. Kaku then had a wicked grin as he runs towards Tatsumi.

Kaku: "If you're that eager to die... I'll grant your wish and cut you to ribbons!"

Mine: "This shouldn't be such a close match! You're as sloppy as ever!"

The two halt as they turn to the voice, seeing Mine standing with Pumpkin, the pink-haired girl in her own night clothes. Her eyes widen as she sees Kaku holding Extase. 

Kaku: "Tch! So the small fries weren't even able to hold you off. You guys were able to regroup."

Mine: "I'm wrapping this up once and for all. Just seeing an enemy wielding Extase pisses me off!"

Kaku: "You're going to wrap up this!? Whoa, now. Think about where you stand before you talk! Your hideout's been discovered and breached by the enemy, and you've been assaulted with a full-on invasion!"

Mine: "Exactly."

The buff man grew annoyed at Mine's response. Now focusing on Mine, he rushes her down, clearly angered.

Kaku: "Don't act so casual!"

But Mine was confident. She readied Pumpkin, raising the gun and pointing it towards Kaku. The Stylish soldier only grinned, thinking he could tank through the gun's shot as he was able to endure a strike from Tatsumi, who was wearing Incursio.

Spirit energy began to gather at the end of Pumpkin's barrel, a large yellow blast of spirit energy being fired. Kaku braced for the attack, but felt the power of Pumpkin, his skin and himself being dissolved by the energy blast. Then, there was nothing left of him, Extase dropping to the ground as Mine let's Pumpkin rest at her side.

Mine: "The tighter the pinch I'm in, the stronger I am. He underestimated my ability."

Akira would regroup with two, him and Tatsumi finishing off what was left of the remnants of Stylish's pawns. Once settled, the two looked to the pink-haired girl, who was slowly walking up to Extase. 

She then crouched down and held it close to her, tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered Sheele's final words to her. The smile she gave her before she turned around and ran at her request. 

Mine: "Welcome back home... Sheele."

---

Mimi: "Kaku has been defeated. And the pawns have fallen in number considerably."

Dr. Stylish: "Oh dear... I miscalculated." (sigh) "Oh, well. I guess we have to--"

Mimi: "The sky! Something's coming!"

Dr. Stylish: (confused) "Huh? What do you--"

The man was cut off when a gust of wind was blown from behind him. When they looked up, they see a giant manta flying over them. 

Dr. Stylish: "A special-class Danger Beast... An Air Manta...!?"

One of Stylish's henchmen, who had a large build, wearing a black captain's cap on his head with purple patches surrounding his eyes, gasped as he sees something on top of the Air Manta.

Me: "There are people riding on it. Ah... That's...! The Former General Najenda!"

On top of the Air Manta, Najenda gazes down below. The front lawn of their base were littered with dead bodies of Stylish's men, some still coming out from the treeline. She then tilts her head back, looking at two cloaked people on the Air Manta with her.

Najenda: "Evil descends upon the base... The fortune-telling Teigu is right again. Hit the nail on the head. Things aren't looking good. We'd better introduce the new combat forces."

Dr. Stylish: "Hmph. You may have taken me by surprise, but... This is actually even better for me." (snaps finger) "I'll make every last one of them a guinea pig for me experiments!"