General voice test

[killtheempire]

-1-

[The sounds and smells of food cooking drew you toward the kitchen, where you find Akame preparing dinner. By all appearances, it would seem she's actually a pretty good cook. The main theme of the meal seems to be big slabs of red meat.

She looks up as you come in.]

Oh. Hello. You can't eat it yet, it's not ready.

-2-

[While wandering the depths of the wilderness, you stumbled upon a small campsite at about the same time the owner returned to it with a basket of supplies she spent the day scavenging on her back. It's Akame, in the middle of her monthly survival training.]

You're very far from any towns. What are you doing out here?

-3-

[You were an awful enough person that the deadly assassination team Night Raid has sent one of their best agents to end you. Akame is not one for excessive chatter. There was no grandstanding or speeches, no dramatic posing or declarations of your crimes. At best, you got the faint sound of fabric rippling in the air before a sword traced a silvery arc through the night at your neck.

According to rumor, even the slightest wound from that sword will kill. Best move quickly.]

Comments

3

[necrosister]

[Oh, sis, come on. You really thought you could sneak up on her? This is just embarrassing for everyone. Moving more like a fluid than someone with a solid body, Kurome draws her own sword, parries the strike with a spray of sparks and lunges forward to swing horizontally at Akame's chest for a counterattack.]

Big siiiis, you're not being polite. Shouldn't we catch up before I kill you? You're not gonna be able to talk when I add you to my collection.

[killtheempire]

[Odds were low, but it let her set the pace for the start of the fight at least. Akame caught her slash, deflecting it upwards over her head so she could get in close and go for a slash to the arm. Anywhere will do, after all.

She doesn't immediately reply to her sister's taunting, but the words twisted at her stomach. That Kurome was like this now was partially her fault, after all.]

[necrosister]

[Be as stoic as you want, Akame. She knows u mad. Or tortured by love and guilt and horrible circumstances, anyway.

Far from letting herself be pushed back to dodge that strike at her arm, she doesn't slow her own approach at all--instead she takes advantage of being The Littlest Assassin and ducks under it, sliding in to kick Akame's feet out from under her.]

[killtheempire]

[It unexpectedly worked, but Akame caught herself, turning the stumbling collapse into a handplant, and then a backflip. The whole exchange had taken less than a second, and left Akame a few feet back with nothing to show for her efforts besides a slightly sore ankle.

She raised her sword again.]

[necrosister]

[At that, Kurome stops. She was the first one to force the other to create more distance, and of course she's not above feeling pretty smug about that--not that she's letting her guard down in any way. Akame's potential next moves race through her mind as she stands ready to counter them. And hey, who knows her big sis's fighting style better than Kurome?

Also, not that she's making a big scene of it, but Natala and Doya are rising out of the ground under cover of the foliage nearby. ]

Aren't you gonna say hi? I guess you really don't like me at all, huh, sis...

[killtheempire]

The empire is broken, Kurome. That's bigger than you or me. If you won't join the revolution, there's nothing left for me to say.

[Was something moving in the bushes? Was it just her imagination? For a split second, Akame's laser-like focus on Kurome wavered...]

[necrosister]

I have a friend who told me it's better to change the empire from the inside than try to destroy it. I wouldn't betray everyone like you did even if I could.

[Oh, and speaking of that friend to whom Kurome is not referring in past-tense: while Natala and Doya begin their feint from either side, an attack of black, arrow-like feathers comes from directly above. That's right, we're not in Empatheias or the anime, she's got Run! Deal with it!]

[killtheempire]

I didn't want-

[And then the battle resumed, rudely interrupting Akame's thought. Murasame flickered like lightning, deflecting that angel guy's feather arrows. Having only a split second from here to decide what to do next, Akame hurled herself at Doya. With close air support, Akame couldn't afford to stay in one place for any length of time.]

1

[steel_over_blood]

[ BULAT CARES NOT although with the news he has perhaps he should fear for his life. ]

Akame! News from the field - the target's moving out early. Pack it up to go if you want to eat!

[ Fuck, that does smell delicious but this is occasionally a time-sensitive profession. ]

[killtheempire]

[Akame looks back and forth between Bulat and the result of an hour of cooking.]

But...

[steel_over_blood]

You've been working with Tatsumi as a cook, right? Leave it to him, and have some faith in the skills you've passed on!

[killtheempire]

Hmmm. I'm not sure if he's ready.

[She trusts Tatsumi with assassinations, but dinner is important!

Buuuuut assassinations are important too.]

I'll have to trust him, though. It will be a test of his skills!

[steel_over_blood]

...If you ask me, he's already surpassed you with rice. Don't get too cocky, or you'll be the apprentice cook before you know it.

[ Packing up something edible that won't go bad - if the info was off again he does not want to be trapped on surveillance with a hungry Akame. ]

[killtheempire]

[She grabs her sword. It's never far from her.]

Would that mean he got to choose the menu?

[steel_over_blood]

It sure would.

[ Man he has no idea, MOTIVATION. ]

[killtheempire]

Then I know what I must do.

[If Tatsumi gets to choose the menu, he might cut back on the amount of meat she got served. This will require careful thought.]

But later. What happened to the target?

Never has this icon been more appropriate

[theendis_nyaigh]

[The blade strikes true, biting through dark fabric and into flesh, it's user caught by surprise. Though dressed as a nun and having spent years passing herself off as one, a dark presence had been growing in the region ever since Nyal had set up shop here. And now-]

... Well that was unfortunate. For all of us, form a certain point of view.

[Even as her head hangs upside-down by a flap of skin, Nyal's eyes still shine with life. Inhuman, eldritch life as a hand reaches up to get her head back on properly.]

So who do I owe for the pleasure of this murder attempt?

[killtheempire]

How-

[Give her a moment. That normally works.]

[theendis_nyaigh]

Didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to disregard questions and then ask your own?

[A glint of silver light in the darkness. It's a counterattack, though the angle's off for any ordinary sword strike!]

[killtheempire]

[Akame awkwardly parried the blow as she stumbled back a bit. A normal sword she would have been fine with, but in a normal situation this fight would already be over.]

I see you are a monster in more ways than we thought.