"Oh? You have a daughter?"

"Adopted," Akira corrected, but smiled nonetheless. "But she's still my daughter. Even if we aren't related by blood, she is still my precious family."

Yomihime giggled as they rode their horses. "I would like to meet her someday, Akira. In fact, I want to meet these people that have taken care of you."

"You... Do?" Akira raised his eyebrows.

"Of course," Yomihime nodded. "It's only natural that I thank the ones that have taken care of you in my stead. Had you remained here, I would be the one doing so."

"I... See..." Akira sighed as he looked to the road. "As much as I hate to admit it... Half of them are gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"...They have passed."

"...I see."

Yomihime furrowed her brow as she returned her gaze to the road. She had felt terrible all of a sudden. Hearing about the people that had taken care of her cousin, because she wasn't there for him at all, she had suddenly became excited to meet them. But to hear that almost half of them, or maybe even more than half, are all dead was... She felt terrible for asking.

--: 3 | The Elder Class :--

Diving into the cool, warm waters of the ocean, Hinowa began to search the sea bed and the open waters for all sorts of sea food and crustaceans. Most presumably for the cooking up of a large feast for Akame, no doubt. 

Though not long after, with her fishing net, she emerges from the water, her net full of fish and all sorts of sea life. Shaking her head, water droplets being flung off of her to dry herself a bit, she hoists herself up onto her boat, emptying her fish net as her whole load she had caught began to fill an area.

She smiled widely. "I got a big catch today! Now I can make a feast for Akame."

Hours later, Hinowa rode her boat back to Yaenami Village. Taking her haul back to the fishermen, she presented it to them. However, she was displeased with how much pay she had gotten, trying to negotiate for a bit more.

"Don't you think you're lowballing me on this deal?"

"Yeah, well, you're not a part of the fishing collective," he replied. "You know these are the prices you get when you're outside the collective."

"But there are six double-fold clams in there!"

The fisherman apart of the fishing collective still remained stern about his decision. "Double-fold clams may be rare, but the rules are still the same, Hinowa."

Hinowa clicked her tongue. Annoyed by the fact that she couldn't get more than what she should actually get. But then again, he did have a point. Hinowa was no longer a part of the fishing collective, so she didn't get the same pay rates as them. Even then, it was still irritable.

She then heard footsteps behind her, turning around to see a bunch more older men than her. They all gave her stern glares, all of them presumably a part of the fishing collective.

"Looks like you got a big catch," the largest of them said.

The shortest one narrowed his eyes at the girl. "You didn't... Catch them in the waters around the village, or did you?"

"I stayed clear of the collective's territory," Hinowa coolly remarks. "I went way out into the sea for this."

"If you agree to bow down to us, I'll let you back into the collective, Hinowa," the ringleader says with a sneer.

"But, no matter how much I bring in there--"

"That is just how it is," one of them said, pointing a finger at her. "It's standard practice that you youngsters have a training period that lasts ten years. That's how long it takes to become a full-fledged fisher! Don't go demanding a commission when you're not even grown up yet!"

Another one of them then spoke up. "We started off at the bottom too. We had to do all the grunt work."

"It must be hard striking out on your own, Hinowa. Like how hard it is having to mend your tools."

"Yeah. Before you know it, you might have another snapped line to deal with... Heh heh."

She could already tell that it was a provocation, a threat to get under her skin. And it did get under her skin alright, Hinowa beginning to grit and grind her teeth as she clenched her fists. Just a bit more and she would immediately lash out at them. But thankfully, before any of that could happen, a group of her kids her age, along with Tobari, arrived with her.

One of the boys himself in, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Whatcha doin', Hinowa? Let's go!"

Both Tobari and one of the older boys gave the old men stern glares. Well, Tobari's was more of a disgruntled and annoyed expression. The younger boy was looking at Hinowa appreciatively. Hinowa couldn't help but look at them in awe and disbelief.

"Guys," she said quietly, speechless.

"What's your problem, brat?" The shortest one asks Tobari, noticing the stink eye she was giving.

"If you'll excuse us... Come on, Tobari!" The younger boy calls out, giving them a brief bow.

One of the boys who spoke before laughs at Hinowa. "The Elder told you not to go showing off your martial arts until your first battle, remember?"

"Sorry," Hinowa apologizes, albeit half-heartedly.

"Hinowa's so quick to anger!" Tobari followed up with, laughing gleefully.

The youngest boy there, Suzumaru, smiled. "If Tobari says so, then we're in trouble."

"Wha!? Say that again, Suzu!"

"W-Wah...!"

The poor boy was soon put into a headlock by Tobari, the girl beginning to attempt and strangle him to death. The eldest boy, Hisame, looks to Hinowa.

"Oh, that reminds me. The Elder's back, Hinowa."

Hinowa could only perk up with excitement.

As the five teenagers begin walking away, the fishing collective only looked at them. The largest of them sighed, scratching his head. 

"An orphan who won't listen to anybody, the second son of a farming family, the child of a mistress, and the child of a drunkard... Apparently they go to some weirdo who lives outside of town to learn their letters and play pretend sword fights."

"I guess they've banded together, all being problem children."

---

"Will I get to meet the rumored Elder tomorrow?" Akame asked, cleaning her adopted daughter's hair.

"Yep. I'm inviting you to my class tomorrow, Akame," Hinowa says with a smile, descending her nude form down into the hot spring.

Nighttime had arrived and when Hinowa had gotten back to her home, she had found Akame tending to her daughter, Air now being wide awake. Surprisingly, Air had gotten used to Hinowa's company and quickly warmed up to her. Though Akame remarked that it was probably because Hinowa looked so much like her husband. Even Hinowa was surprised herself when she found Air able to warm up to her real quick.

Air tilted her head back slightly. "Can I come, too, mother?"

"Mmm..." Akame was unsure, looking to Hinowa. "Is it okay?"

"Yeah! Besides, we can't really leave her by herself at the house."

"Then... If you say it's okay..."

"Of course!"

Akame soon chides her daughter lightly. "But, that means you must be on your best behavior. Is that understood?"

"Yes, mother."

Tobari soon jumps into the spring, joining them. "There are three other guys. They're pretty strong. Though I'm stronger!"

Hinowa lets out a relaxed sigh as she leaned back. "They're good guys. I value them as friends."

"Yeah. They are good guys. Though I'm stronger!" She repeats. Soon, Tobari peers head around, hearing shuffling behind her. "Hmm?"

The noise from behind her was one of the aforementioned boys. A perverted grin had made it's way onto his face, a look of glee as he was getting ready to peer his head around the large boulder he was hiding behind. If anything, he thought he was being sneaky, said sneakiness going to be rewarded with the sight of naked women.

But as soon as he peered his head around, doing it slowly and creepily, immediately, a rock was bonked onto his head. Tobari had thrown it in the general vicinity she heard the noise come from, hearing the "thunk" come from the rock and a "thud," hearing the boy fall onto his back whilst he screamed in pain.

"That must've been Kume," Tobari said with an unamused expression.

Hinowa sighed in exasperation, hints of annoyance as well. "And right after I called him a good guy. Sorry, Akame, Air."

"I know all about that type. It's fine," Akame said with a giggle, remembering her friend, Guy. "Though he should be lucky."

"Hmm? Lucky? About what?" Both Tobari and Hinowa looked at her confused.

"He should be lucky that my husband isn't here." Air nodded in agreement with Akame.

"..." The other two girls were silent for a bit. "...Ohh... That makes sense..."

Akame could only shake her head with a close-eyed smile. The memories of when she was a part of the Elite Seven came to mind, remembering how Akira would often be scolding and picking a fight with Guy every time he tried to peek on her and the only other girls of the team. Then when she was a part of Night Raid, she could only remember her husband chasing a familiar green-haired pervert around the hideout.

Such fun times, is what she thought. Those memories... All felt so long ago. It felt so unreal to her.

---

"Thank you very much for healing me and my daughter's wounds," Akame said with a boy, Air doing the same.

In front of them was an old man, who simply laughed cheerily. "I only did what anybody would do. Now. Come on in."

The next morning had arrived and Hinowa did as she had promised, bringing both Akame and Air to the other side of Yaenami Village. On the outskirts, there was a well-sized shack that held the presumed Elder.

"People call me the Elder," he confirmed. "Though there are many who call me strange."

"I'm Hisame," the tallest boy greeted.

The youngest boy then spoke up, maybe about a year or so younger than Hinowa and the others.

"I'm Suzumaru. Nice to meet you."

The boy from yesterday then spoke up. "I'm Kumehachi! And I know there's a rumor going around that I was the one peeking on you bathing last night, but those are all false charges."

"Says you with the bandages on," Tobari says with a snort, giving him an unamused stare.

"I must say, I'm surprised," the Elder mused, his back to Akame and Air. "I understand you and your group crossed the great sea from the far reaches of the West to get here, Akame."

"I hear there are lots of giant Freaks when you go far to the West by sea... Although, you have to pass an area of the ocean, always raging with storms..." Suzumaru murmured.

Akame nodded. "It's nodded. We had a large ship take us that far. But it got caught up in the storm and it got badly damaged. That's when we encountered a giant Danger Beast attack the side of the ship... I suppose you call them Freaks here? Anyways, we were attacked. And after that... We were separated from my husband and a friend of ours."

Remembering said memory, Air could only clench onto her mother's hand tightly, looking down. She tried reaching out to her father, but being the person he was, he had Akame hold onto her tightly. Saying Air was worried for him was an understatement. She worried for Akira and Chelsea greatly.

Kumehachi gulped, looking at them in disbelief. "I can't believe you survived that... When that part of the ocean is what keeps the far reaches of the west such a mystery."

"I fought for dear life to keep me and my daughter safe... And when we came to, we'd washed up on shore. That's when we were saved by you all."

"You even speak our language," Suzumaru spoke brightly.

"There was a book that explained in depth about the world, including this country," Akame said, referring to the Teigu, Rongo Rongo. "So we studied beforehand." 

"Father was quite adamant about learning it," Air remarked quietly, though only a few heard her. "But... It was fun."

"But that book was written a thousand years ago," Akame continued. "Making the knowledge in it a thousand years old."

The Elder looks at her curiously. "What reason did you have for coming to this country that you would go so far? Diplomatic relations?"

Akame gestured to her arms. "This mark is a curse I used when I defeated a strong enemy in a war in the country I come from. My husband as well. Though, he was the one that wanted to come here so he could search for a cure, for my sake."

"Your husband sounds like a good man. To care for you in such a way," the Elder says with a smile.

Akame nods again. "At first, it hurt so badly, I couldn't bear it, but as I've gotten used to it, it now feels like my entire body is weighed down and heavy. I have a feeling it won't end with only that. I believe it is eating at my very life."

The red-eyed woman completely omitted the detail of having her miscarriage. Just the thought of that time brought great pain for her, especially remembering the great pain it had caused the man she loved. There were many nights she'd remember of him coming home, sitting on the couch alone as he tried to drink his sorrows away. Thankfully, she and Air were able to stop him from doing such a thing, but that didn't change the fact that Akira had beat himself up over it, blaming the whole incident as his own fault.

Air, on the other hand, had looked up at her adoptive mother in shock. She knew that the curse that weighs on her mother was quite a toll, she knew that much. But she didn't think that the curse that lies on her was slowly eating her life away. She couldn't help but wonder... What kind of curse did her father obtain?

"I am in search of a way to break the curse," Akame said truthfully, showing no hints of a lie in her eyes. "And there is much else i wish to know... Like when a person becomes a Freak. How to turn them back."

Of course, there were a multitude of reasons for coming here. Aside from Akira's personal reason and the possibility of curing his wife, there was also the possibility of a cure to turn someone back into a human. That human namely being Tatsumi, who had fused with his Teigu, Incursio, now taking the form of the Tyrant Danger Beast.

Hinowa only gained a saddened gaze, grabbing Akame's hand and holding it with her own.

"You and your family have been through so much, Akame."

"We thought there might be more to your situation," Suzumaru says kindly, "so we kept you a secret from the others. But it turns out you're not a runaway from another country."

"Then you believe me?" Akame asked.

Kumahachi winks at her. "I believe anything a hottie has to say!"

Tobari then bonks his head, grimacing. "She has a husband, you idiot...!"

The Elder seemed to have gotten the gist of Akame's situation, nodding his head. Plus, he could tell of her predicament by looking at her eyes. He could see the eyes of sadness, deep within those red irises of her, holding nothing but sadness and pain.

Pain of betrayal, the pain of losing things and people they've loved... Such pain was something mortal creatures are no stranger to, but something that they will almost never heal from. 

And from what he could tell, there was a pain in both Akame and Air hadn't healed from. Like they lost a part of themselves. Standing up, he soon goes over to a nearby table and grabs a rolled up scroll, coming back over to the red-eyed woman and pink-haired girl, presenting it to them.

"Akame. Now it is our turn to explain ourselves to you." He then rolls out the paper, revealing it was a map of Wakoku. "At present, twenty-two countries are locked in a battle for rule in this age of civil war. This is the complete map of Wakoku. We are in the Soukai Nation. This small country here," he said, pointing at a specific part of the map. "And the map of the surrounding areas is this here. Here is Yaenami Village, where we are now. We are allies with the Saryuu, and the Tenrou is an enemy nation that is targeting our territory."

"From what I've seen, this area seems very peaceful, though."

"The Soukai Nation subsists along with the ocean," the Elder responded. "When it comes to marine warfare, they are second to none. The impregnable Shiranui Fortress blocks the way here by land. That is why, for many decades, the domain of the Soukai Nation has maintained peace and tranquility like that of a different world."

"But that's not to say we're not involved in the fighting," Tobari interjects. "When those Tenrou dogs find an opening, they send in their troops."

Hisame puts a fist to his chest. "We're learning here so that we can play an active role in the fight."

Suzumaru then follows up with a smile. "If we can distinguish ourselves on the battlefield, even the members of the lowest caste of society like us can obtain our dreams."

"I'm going to become a strong general that commands a huge army!" Tobari exclaims excitedly. "I'm gonna rampage across the land!"

Kumachi hugged and rubbed himself in delight... In a weird way. "For me, it's all about the girls. I want to be surrounded by countless hotties and be made such a fuss over from morning until night that I'll have to beg them to give me a break!"

"When the world is at war, it is dark times indeed," the Elder said, nodding grimly. "But it can also be when people shine the brightest. The people here honing their skills are as of yet unknown, but... They're prodigies with the power to bring about the end of the civil war."

"Yeah!" Hinowa responded. "And when all is said and done, we're going to end the chaos!"

"I have an idea about what we can do about your curse, Akame," the Elder says. "I will look into it, so in the meanwhile, recuperate in Hinowa's home."

"Thank you very much." Akame slightly bows. She then grew curious. "By the way, Master Elder... Do you have a name?"

The Elder stared at her for a moment before he chuckled. "I am a strange, old man who wandered into this village. I singled out and trained these children with potential. That is all I can say."

"We don't know anything more than that either," Hinowa said as well.

Akame hummed in response. Turning her head back to the Elder, watching the old man leave into the courtyard, his cane making "click" and "clacking" noises as he went. She narrowed her eyes a little.

'I sense elegance and dignity. No mistake about it. He was a person of high rank.'

---

The next day in Yaenami Village, Hinowa and her friends were heading through it to check for a certain notice. As they walked deeper into the town, Tobari was the first to run ahead, seeing a wooden sign. Stopping at it, she read it, turning to her friends with an excited look.

"Hey! Hey! They've put up an official recruitment billboard! The Tenrou army is on the move!"

"The Elder did say that next they start recruiting soldiers, we'll go to the battlefield," Suzumaru said.

Kumehachi grinned. "Finally. Our first official battle."

Hinowa mirrored Tobari's excitement. "I've been waiting for this moment!"

Though not far from them were the adults of the fishing collective. They seemed to be muttering to themselves, having overheard them, especially Hinowa, express their desire to go to the battlefield. One of them then walked up to her.

"Hey! Don't tell me you'll be going into battle, Hinowa!"

"Yes, I am," she replied sharply, standing her ground.

Another one of them spoke up. "Your mother and aunt died the same way, or did you forget!? You idiot! Just because you're somewhat good at fishing does not mean--"

"I've been training for this," she says, cutting him off with a resolute stare.

"We need to teach her how things work around here."

"It'll hurt, but it's better than her dying."

The man that berated her spoke up. "Listen, Hinowa. We're going to punch you now. You can hit back. Not that it'll do any good." He readied his fist and ran at her. "You need to learn to fear adults!"

But Hinowa didn't falter. Not one bit.

This was her first battle, so she figured it was going to be okay to use her martial arts. This was only further reinforced by Suzumaru saying the same thing.

When the first man lunged forward, Hinowa did so as well. Thrusting her fist forward, she struck his chest, making him cough and recoil as he fell onto the ground. She then turned to the largest one, grabbing him by the wrist before throwing him over her shoulder, body slamming him into the third man. Both men grunted in pain as they were sent to the ground with their previous friend, the crowd and onlookers looking shocked, murmuring to themselves of what had happened.

"Did you see that?"

"What the hell was that?"

Tobari sighed and deadpanned as she slumped forward, "Weaklings."

One of the fishing collective men grunted, looking up at her. "Y-You... I didn't realize you were so strong."

"We're going now," Hinowa said, her back to them as she began following her friends. "To make our dreams come true."

---

At the time of posting this, this chapter will be the last update to this book (for now) until I've figured what I officially want to do later down the line. Like I said before, I have a rough idea of what I want to do for the much later chapters of this book, but they have not been finalized and are subject to change.

In any case, that's all I have to say. I do hope you have enjoyed this chapter and I hope you all await the next one. Until then.