Steel Eyed Faker Chapter 34: Save the Family (Patreon)

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

I'll be posting the Bleach chapter in a few minutes along with the polls I with the new choices.

Next update is Hound.

Also, I'll be posting a docs link rather than pasting the chapter here in order to avoid the issues chapter 88 of An Archer's Promise had -_-

Hm, or I can just paste the entire chapter and remove that part and y'all can see the full version in the docs. Yeah, I'll do that. It's a mostly small scene anyways.

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-The Capital-

(This beginning part you can check in the link)

Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/173Qmip3DWFx6yYj0KtEpn9ytyj3_1i0Lz3pYQlMD7xA/edit?usp=drivesdk

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(A few hours later)

Wave picked up the photograph from the table and studied it carefully. The image showed Bols standing beside his wife and daughter, all three smiling happily for the camera. There was nothing particularly unusual about the picture. From the outside, they looked like an ordinary family enjoying a peaceful moment together.

It still felt strange knowing who the man in the photograph really was.

The cheerful-looking father standing beside his family had one of the most dangerous reputations among the Jaegers. Bols had accumulated an impressive number of kills during his time with the group and even more prior to the group’s formation, when he’d served with the Imperial incineration squad, burning bandit camps, rebel outposts, or even entire villages afflicted by plague. Yet nothing about his expression in the picture suggested that he could be capable of such things. He looked like just an ordinary man overjoyed to be surrounded by the people he cherished most.

Wave lowered the photograph and placed it back where he found it.

Crash!

The sudden noise from the entrance made him immediately rush toward the sound.

Run stood nearby, trying to calm Bols down, while the larger man had one fist buried through part of the wall. Pieces of plaster and wood littered the floor around his arm.

"Calm down, Bols. Your emotions are running high, and you're not thinking clearly right now."

"Calm down?" The frustration in Bols' voice nearly cracked as he pulled his arm from the damaged wall. "You want me to calm down? My daughter and my wife are gone! How am I supposed to calm down when I don't even know where they are? If something happened to them, I can't…"

The words caught in his throat.

Wave stepped closer and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Let's not assume the worst yet. It's entirely possible they weren't even inside when everything started. Once the commotion began, they could have been outside already and simply been swept away with everyone else looking to flee the city."

He continued before the panic could take over again.

"We warned the population first and arranged for them to move toward safer areas before the general attack began. With all the people being moved at once, your wife and daughter could have easily been caught up in the evacuation."

"I'm not sure…”

Wave glanced toward the damaged entrance before continuing.

"There could have been plenty of reasons for them to leave the house. And just because they're not here doesn't automatically mean they went toward the slums. They might have evacuated with the others."

The possibility immediately caught Bols' attention.

"Then we have to find them, no, I have to find them! It’s not safe out there for a lone woman and her child!”

He hurried away before either of them could stop him, heading toward the area where the other survivors had gathered. Wave watched him disappear before exchanging a concerned look with Run.

"What do you think about this?"

Run examined the house before answering.

"Nothing here immediately suggests a struggle. There aren't any signs of a fight, and nothing appears damaged apart from what Bols just did. It's entirely possible they simply left with the others."

"Bols mentioned there was a basement. If something happened, you'd think they would've gone there for protection, but there's nobody inside."

Run lowered his gaze, considering the possibility.

"Maybe they panicked and followed the crowd. With everything happening at once, it wouldn't be difficult for them to get lost in that maze of people."

The explanation made sense, but Wave still couldn't convince himself to accept it completely. Bols had always been a good man toward them, and seeing him so desperate over his missing family made it difficult to dismiss the possibility that something had gone wrong.

"Let's search the house one more time. We might find something the others missed, or there could be some indication of where they went."

Run nodded, and the two began searching again.

Wave moved through the rooms one by one, checking corners, furniture, doorways, and anything else that might provide some clue. He examined the surroundings carefully without knowing exactly what he expected to find. Eventually, another room caught his attention.

Judging by the furniture and decorations, it clearly belonged to a child.

Several stuffed bears sat around the room, and many of them wore small masks resembling the one Bols himself used. And they’d clearly been stitched by hand, with some of the newer ones showing markedly improved sewmanship, indicating this was likely a skill that Bols himself had picked up and developed at his child’s insistence. 

The sight brought a faint chuckle from Wave as he picked one up and looked at it.

"She really does love her father."

He returned the toy to its place before his attention shifted back toward the room itself. His eyes moved across the floor, beneath the bed, along the walls, and around the furniture, searching for anything that might indicate a struggle.

Nothing.

‘I don't exactly consider myself a great detective, but there's no sign of a fight here. The door hasn't been forced open, the windows are still closed, and nothing looks disturbed. No matter how I look at it, it really does seem like the two of them simply evacuated with everyone else.’

Yet Bols' reaction continued to bother him.

The man had been certain something terrible had happened. Wave couldn't simply dismiss that concern, especially when his family remained unaccounted for. If another pair of eyes could help, perhaps calling for assistance would be the best option.

Before he could decide, Run called out from the kitchen.

"Wave."

He made his way over and found the other man down on one knee, examining something near the floor with a thoughtful expression.

"Did you find something?"

"Do you not smell that?"

He blinked and looked around.

"Smell what?"

He took a breath through his nose, trying to identify whatever had caught Run's attention. Nothing stood out. The kitchen simply smelled clean, with none of the usual odors he would expect from a house where a family had recently been living.

Run pointed toward a nearby chair.

"That. It was recently cleaned."

Wave looked at the chair, then back at him, growing even more confused.

"Is that a good thing? What does cleaning a chair have to do with any of this?” 

Run shook his head and pointed toward one particular spot on the chair. "There's a small trace of something here. Iron, blood perhaps."

Confused, the former marine leaned closer and brought his nose toward the chair, taking a careful sniff. Nothing stood out to him beyond the same soapy scent that lingered around the furniture.

"I only smell soap."

"That's another problem."

The answer only made him scratch his head. He looked at the chair again, then back at Run, clearly struggling to understand what he was supposed to notice. "What's going on here? I'm kind of lost. What's so suspicious about the smell?"

Instead of answering immediately, Run pointed toward the other chairs around the room. "Smell those."

Wave went around the room and checked each one. A few seconds later, his expression changed.

"Yeah. There's no soap on any of them." He straightened up and looked toward his companion. "What do you think?"

"This chair was recently cleaned. Recent enough that the water hasn't completely evaporated yet." Run crouched beside it, examining the surface more closely. "It could simply mean she started cleaning this one and didn't finish with the others. That's one possibility."

His gaze shifted toward the rest of the room.

"Or someone could have been trying to hide something, and they had to clean the evidence."

The implication made Wave's expression turn more grim.

"The blood alone raises many concerns. I wouldn't have thought too much about it if it weren't for those suspicious marks outside."

"Outside?"

Wave immediately headed toward the back of the house, with Run following close behind. Once they stepped outside, the difference became obvious. A small garden stretched behind the building, several vegetables and fruit-bearing plants growing in neat sections that likely belonged to Bols' family. Most of the plants remained undisturbed, but one immediately caught Run's attention.

He crouched beside it and pointed toward the damaged stem and flattened leaves. "This one was crushed while the others around it are fine. From the condition of the plant, the damage looks fresh. I don't think anyone simply walked through here either. There aren't enough footprints."

A few steps farther, another detail caught his attention.

"Look there."

The two moved several dozen meters from the house, where a pair of distinct tracks could be seen in the dirt. Run crouched down and picked something up from nearby, brushing some dirt from its surface before holding it out.

"A slipper."

One that was pink and had the same theme as those plushies inside the room he was just in. The blue-haired Jaeger stared at it, then looked back toward the house.

"If the family had evacuated normally, they would have gone through the main entrance and followed everyone else. Why come around through the back?" Run continued, piecing the details together. "And if we assume the mother panicked and carried her child, why didn't she take shelter in the basement? Did she not trust it? Or perhaps she was trying to escape something already inside."

His eyes moved toward the house again.

"Someone could have already been there. Even if she really was running away, there's another problem. Why would she stop long enough to clean?"

Wave stared at him for a moment before scratching the back of his head.

"Are you some kind of detective, by chance?"

A small smile appeared on Run's face. "I'm just observant. I've spoken with both of them before, and the mother always struck me as remarkably level-headed. When you're married to a man whose occupation involves killing people, and you know exactly what he does, being naive isn't much of an option. Bols himself mentioned that his wife isn't the type to make hasty decisions."

That explanation made Wave's concern grow. If even half of what his companion had noticed pointed toward the same conclusion, then something had gone seriously wrong.

"So what should we do?" His gaze returned to the abandoned house. "If something happened to them, or someone actually kidnapped them, then we need to find them as quickly as possible."

"That's the problem. We don't have any real leads." Run looked down at the slipper still in his hand. "Everything we've found points toward something being wrong, but most of it remains guesswork. We don't have enough to know who took them, where they went, or even whether someone actually took them."

"What kind of deranged idiots would do something like this during a situation this dangerous?"

Run let out a tired sigh. "The world is full of different kinds of people. Some will do almost anything when given an opportunity, while others see the chaos of a city-wide attack as the perfect chance to take advantage of people who can't protect themselves."

"We can't just stand around here and do nothing!" Frustration crept into his voice as he gestured toward the house. "If something really happened, Bols needs to find them before it's too late, and we need to help him!"

"I know." The blond man looked toward the road leading away from the property. "I'm trying to figure out where we go from here."

A thought came to him, and his expression became more focused.

"There aren't many people who would willingly target the families of the Jaegers. We're in a particular position. Even people operating in the underground would normally keep their distance, especially after seeing what General Esdeath can do."

Wave's expression immediately changed.

"You think it could be Night Raid?"

At that, Run shook his head. "They're assassins, and I've studied their records. Kidnapping the family members of targets isn't their method of operating. Their objective is to kill their targets, nothing more and nothing less. If they were responsible, we'd probably be standing over corpses rather than an empty house."

Wave considered that before reluctantly nodding.

"Even with my grudge against Night Raid and everything that's happened between us, they never struck me as the kind of people who would do something like this."

"We need to regroup."

"What?"

"Standing here won't get us anywhere." Run turned back toward the road. "Let's gather everything we've learned and ask the others whether they noticed anything unusual. There's still a possibility I'm completely wrong and the mother simply followed the evacuation crowd with her child. If that's what happened, we can get everyone involved in searching for them."

He glanced once more toward the abandoned house.

"But if they didn't leave with the crowd, then we'll need help finding out where they went."

Wave made an unhappy face.

"Do you really think the people from Wild Hunt are going to agree to help us?"

"They won't have much choice." Run's answer came without hesitation. "Besides, some of them aren't as bad as the others. For the right price, a few might be willing to cooperate."

The look he gave Wave carried enough meaning that the other man immediately understood.

His face fell, the last thing he wanted to do right now. Especially when he recalled he still had a deal with one of them that he had yet to fulfill.

"Damnit. You want me to approach Dorothea?"

Run nodded. "If you can. She's already shown that she'll keep her word when she makes a deal, so she's one of our better options. We can also ask Kurome for help."

He rubbed his face, clearly unhappy with the situation, but there wasn't much argument left to make.

"Fine. Let's go."

"Exactly. We don't have time to waste.” 

The pair then made their way outside the city’s gates to where the others would be. Both pushed themselves to their top speeds and activated their Imperial Arms, covering the distance as quickly as possible. 

When they finally arrived, a large portion of the Capital's population had gathered outside, with soldiers spread throughout the area trying to keep everyone calm. Others were busy protecting the civilians from several Danger Beasts that had emerged from the forest and attempted to attack the crowd. The situation looked chaotic, but the soldiers still maintained enough control to keep the creatures from reaching the people.

"Looks like whatever was going on with the General has ended!" Wave looked toward the gates as the situation gradually settled. "Shouldn't they let the population go back inside?"

Run shook his head while scanning the crowd. "This is a good time to search for them. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled."

Not long after, the gates opened again and the population began moving back inside the Capital. The two immediately focused on the people passing through, searching for familiar faces among the crowd. They kept looking for what felt like hours, checking every group that passed them, yet neither could find the people they were searching for.

"Wave!"

Hearing his name, he looked down just in time to see Bols rushing toward him. The large man hurried across the ground with such urgency that he failed to notice his own footing and tripped, landing face-first with a heavy thud.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Bols barely seemed to notice the fall. Trembling, he pushed himself up and looked toward him. While the mask covered his expression, his entire demeanor betrayed his panic.

"They're not here! They're not here! I asked some of our neighbors, and they all said that both my wife and daughter were already gone by the time they came to search for them!"

Wave gritted his teeth as he looked toward the returning population. Several people had not immediately gone back inside the Capital, remaining outside because they still looked frightened by everything that had happened. Run landed beside the two a moment later, and the look Wave gave him carried an obvious question, one he desperately hoped would receive a better answer than anything he could give Bols. 

Unfortunately, the other man only shook his head, confirming that his own search had turned up nothing.

For a moment, they exchanged a look. Wave's eyes briefly shifted toward Bols before he subtly waved his hand, making it clear that now was not the time to discuss the theory they had developed. With the man's current state, revealing it could only make matters worse before they had anything to support it.

"What's going on here?"

The familiar voices drew their attention as more members of the Jaegers arrived, with Kurome, Cosmina, and most of the others among them. Wave quickly explained that they couldn't find Bols' family before looking toward the group.

"Did any of you see them while you were handling the population?"

The response came through a series of headshakes. None of them had seen Bols' wife or daughter among the people being escorted back into the Capital, leaving the situation exactly where it had started.

Then Champ, who had maintained his usual quiet demeanor throughout the situation, finally stepped forward with an expression of concern. "Oh no, they're gone? Those two are such pure souls. Don't worry, Bols, I'll make sure nothing bad happens to them. We'll find them!"

The reaction came before anyone could intervene. Both Wave and Bols turned around and punched Champ in the face at the same time, the impact producing a loud bam! that left everyone around them stunned. Before the man could recover, Bols grabbed hold of his clothes and lifted him from the ground with ridiculous strength, while Wave seized him as well.

"You! You had something to do with this, didn't you!? Where are they!?"

The rotund clown struggled in their grip, his expression filled with confusion. "What are you talking about!? I was with my friends the entire time, and we were right here looking after the people! I couldn't have done anything!"

"Don't you think I'm blind?" Bols' anger continued to rise as he held him higher. "I know you've been eyeing them! I told you several times to keep your distance, and don't think for a second that I don't know your history! Where are they!? If you don't tell me, I'll burn your corpse into ashes!"

His Imperial Arm came up in one hand, its tip aimed directly at Champ's face. The threat immediately changed the expressions around them, and the other members rushed forward before things could go any further.

"Hey, he's telling the truth!" Cosmina stepped between them as much as she could. "He was here the entire time! Do you really think he would have had time to kidnap your family while looking after everyone? He had nothing to do with it! If you burn him right now, it won't accomplish anything!"

One thing that surprised Wave was that one of the former members of Wild Hunt actually went out of her way to defend their member. Cosmina of all people on top of that, still, she was right and the words finally reached him. Bols remained there for several seconds, still gripping the man's clothes, before his fingers gradually loosened. Champ dropped to his knees, coughing as he caught himself, while the distraught husband took several steps backward and looked physically drained by everything that had happened.

"Don't worry, we'll find them. I promise you."

Wave supported him as he struggled to remain standing. The promise offered little comfort, but Bols clung to it anyway.

"Please, Wave. If I can't find them soon, I won't be able to stop myself. I might do something that will most likely end with the General killing me. Please don't make me cross the line."

"Don't worry. I got you."

The response came firmly as Wave kept an arm around him. Deep down, however, he knew they had probably made the right decision by keeping their theory to themselves. Bols already looked close to the edge, and telling him that they suspected something far worse would only push him further. His attention shifted toward Run, the look between them carrying the same message as before. 

They needed to find something, anything, before it became too late.

{Break}

-The Capital Outskirts-

(A few hours later)

Night had settled over the forest, covering the trees beneath a dark sky filled with countless stars. Small birds that once chirped from somewhere among the branches had now gone quiet with the sound of cicadas replacing them, an otherwise peaceful surroundings as the wind moved through the leaves with a soft rustling sound. Moonlight filtered between the trees, casting pale patches of light across the forest floor and illuminating the higher branches.

Among that natural scenery, a pair of binoculars caught the moonlight, the lenses reflecting it for a moment before the device shifted slightly. A faint green light flashed from inside as a knob turned, adjusting the magnification from one level to another. The view of the distant Capital changed with each adjustment, bringing sections of the city closer before pulling them back again.

Eventually, the binoculars lowered from Emiya's hands as he looked toward the distant Capital from his position atop a wooden platform hidden deep within the forest. The small outpost remained concealed among the trees, far enough from the Capital that nobody there would easily spot it. It served as a location occasionally used by the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid scouts whenever they needed to observe the Capital from a distance.

"Strange. For something like a war to have happened, the Capital looks surprisingly calm." From beside him, a certain green haired assassin mumbled with a yawn. “I should have brought some coffee with me…”

“Agreed.” Emiya said, leaning forward slightly, continuing to examine the distant city with his naked eyes while placing the binoculars to the side. "I can see some signs of damage around the western end, though. The battle must have been pretty big, but from the looks of it, it ended very quickly."

A deep sigh escaped him as he settled back onto the wooden platform. Rather than immediately charging into the Capital as Leone and some of the others had wanted, Emiya had suggested that they observe the situation first and act once they had a better idea of what had happened. Rushing in without knowing what they were dealing with could create more problems than it solved.

Before he could raise the binoculars again, another hand reached over and took them from him. Lubbock immediately brought the device toward his face and began examining it with open fascination, turning it over in his hands before looking through the lenses.

"Woah, where the hell do you even get these things? This is far more useful than that brass telescope I got. How far can it see?"

"About five kilometers, give or take. It really depends on how high you are standing." 

The answer only made the young man more fascinated. The binoculars had come from one of the pieces of equipment he had acquired during his travels around the world, roughly ten years after the Holy Grail War. To him, they were fairly ordinary military equipment, the kind of item soldiers could use as a standard tool, but to people in this world who had a strange mix of old medieval and modern technology, the difference was ironically enormous.

Lubbock lowered the binoculars slightly, his mind clearly working through the possibilities. "Wait a second. Didn't Najenda say something ridiculous about you being able to fire an arrow from four kilometers away? Does that mean you can do it because of something like this?"

Well, he was thinking outside the box but he did not even give the young man an answer. For his curiosity quickly shifted into skepticism as he looked back toward him. "Wait, no. Even if you can see that far, how the hell can you shoot accurately from that distance in the first place?"

"Experience. Years of shooting."

“Bullshit.” 

“I've never lied.”

“As far as we can tell.” 

Touche.

Lubbock stared at him for a moment before looking back through the binoculars. "So can you shoot farther than four kilometers? Not that such a range isn't ridiculous on its own given you don't even have a Teigu, but still, I'm curious."

To that, he nodded. "Technically, yes. But the farther the distance, the more my accuracy suffers."

His bow could technically shoot a modified arrow beyond his usual range, but aside from accuracy issues, the magical energy, muscle strain and efficiency of it all just no longer made sense. Furthermore, at just a distance also came the issue of not being able spot his targets unless he stood far up.

That answer seemed to satisfy his curiosity for the moment as he continued examining the equipment, while Emiya returned his attention toward the distant Capital and the damaged western section. The outpost remained hidden among the trees, giving them a safe position from which to watch the city before deciding what to do next.

Lubbock gave him a long stare. "Can't you just use that wishy-washy weird magic of yours to figure out the accuracy part?"

A faintly tired expression crossed Emiya's face as he looked back at him. "Because it doesn't work that way. My abilities aren't some magical answer machine, and being able to create something doesn't mean I can suddenly make one that does what you said.” 

Technically, Hrunting could do that, but best to not go too much in the details to avoid confusion and unnecessary sharing of personal information. 

“Sometimes there simply isn't enough information to work with."

Their attention returned to the Capital below. From this distance, the city appeared normal, with people moving through the streets and the usual activity continuing despite everything that had happened recently. Still, the absence of certain figures left an uncomfortable gap that neither of them could ignore.

"It's strange to think the Child Emperor might actually be gone," Lubock mused. "We haven't gotten any word about what happened to Honest either."

"So far, things don't look all that chaotic."

"Were you expecting something worse?"

"I'm not sure." Emiya narrowed his eyes slightly while looking over the distant buildings. "What I want to know is what Honest could possibly have done to provoke Esdeath to such a degree."

"Provoke?" The disbelief in the response came quickly. "She's a lunatic monster who wants to freeze and kill everything on sight! I bet she will kill anyone who won't follow her orders or even resist the tiniest bit, she won't even bother with all the backstabbing like Honest. What more does anyone need to do to get on her bad side?"

A bit of an exaggeration, the way he portrayed her suited Ivan the Terrible most. Thankfully that Heroic Spirit did not appear here, though Esdeath would have gotten along quite well.

"Well, I can't blame you for thinking that, but no, that's not really the case. Esdeath is many things, but a cheater or a backstabber isn't one of them. When she gives someone her word, she takes it seriously. If you make a deal with her, she'll follow through even if keeping that promise puts her at a disadvantage."

Like he expected, Lubbock turned toward him with an incredulous expression. "You make her sound like someone reasonable and easy to work with."

“She kinda is,” he said, remembering the many times they worked together and how she handled both teamwork and any sort of immediate threat. "Actually, now that I think about it, if Eseath weren't loyal to the Empire and had instead allied herself with the Revolutionary Army, she'd probably be exactly that, someone extremely useful to have around. Her personal views are cruel and twisted, and I'm not pretending otherwise, but when it comes to accomplishing a task, she'll go far beyond what most people would consider necessary. Give her a goal and she'll find a way to achieve it, regardless of how difficult the circumstances become."

His gaze remained fixed on the Capital as an old memory came back to him. "You don't even need to look that far back. Honest once sent her north with an army of barely a thousand soldiers to deal with the northern tribes. The tribes had nearly ten times that number between them, yet she still won."

Lubock's expression shifted slightly as he listened. He did not mind sharing some small snippets of what he observed from her conquest during these past years.

"It wasn't the overwhelming victory people like to imagine either. She didn't simply walk into the northern territories and wipe everyone out with her powers. Most of the time, she relied on planning and conventional military tactics, breaking the tribes apart one by one rather than throwing her strongest abilities at every problem. One strategy in particular always stuck with me. She surrounded a stronghold and cut off its food supply completely. Nobody went in, nobody came out, and she didn't even bother attacking the walls — simply kept her army there and waited."

A particularly cruel and sadistic tactic, one that suited her taste and an event he unfortunately could not arrive in time to prevent. For he had been busy helping Spear and her father at that time.

"That siege lasted more than a month. Eventually, another stronghold suffered an even worse fate. They had food and water locked away inside, so rather than waste soldiers trying to breach the defenses, she started using what the battlefield had already given her. Corpses of fallen enemy soldiers were covered in filth and disease-riddled pathogens before being thrown over the walls and into the stronghold. Within days, the people inside were sick enough that the entire position collapsed on its own."

“…”

Lubock stared at him in open horror. After a moment, he dragged a hand down his face.

"Ah right, I remember that case. The aftermath was pretty fucked up, even the Revolutionary Army were forced to retreat on many fronts due to that. Again, why exactly are you defending this woman?"

Again, Emiya shook his head at that misunderstanding. 

"I'm not defending her. She's a monster, and don't get me wrong about that. I'm simply pointing out why not everyone would look at her with the same hatred if she'd fought on our side. If she were to inflict that same kind of treatment on enemy soldiers, people fighting against her would call it horrifying, but those standing beside her would probably call it effective."

"…I suppose so."

The conversation had gotten pretty morbid and uncomfortable, so best to shift it to something else he figured. "How is Mine doing?"

"She's starting to walk again, but I think you already know that."

"I do. I meant mentally. Does she intend to continue working as an assassin?"

The events of Stylish and his living bombs nearly brought the girl to death's door. If not that, then turning her into a cripple.

"Of course." A faint smile tugged at Lubock's face. "It'll take more than that to put her down. She's the most stubborn member of the group for a reason. You could cut off all four of her limbs and she'd probably still find some ridiculous way to keep going."

"Humph. That sounds like her."

Lubock studied him for a moment before another question came to mind. "Speaking of which, what's going on with you and Akame?"

“Eh?” The answer came with a genuinely confused look. "What about it?"

"I saw the two of you having a cute little moment earlier. Even a blind person could see there's something special going on between you."

Cute moment together? He wracked his brain for such a moment until he recalled the conversation they had at the campfire. "You misunderstand, I was just talking to her. What exactly did I do that made you think something special was happening?"

"I trust my gut, and my gut is telling me that she's falling for you, you damn bastard."

“…” Emiya's expression remained completely unconvinced. "You probably have food poisoning from eating too much, because your gut is obviously wrong."

The two of them broke into laughter, the absurdity of the accusation making it difficult for either to keep a straight face.

"Seriously, though. If not Akame, what about Leone, Chelsea, or Sheele?"

“Oi,” The laughter faded as he gave him a flat look. "You make it sound like I'm some kind of playboy going after every woman in the group. Just because I've spoken with them doesn't mean I'm trying to get them into my bed. Don't bring up Leone, we've been getting along well from the beginning, but that can't be said for the others. Some of which I barely spoke to. Hold on…"

An amused thought seemed to occur to him, and one eyebrow rose.

"Are you worried I'll go after Najenda?"

“W-Wha—” A hint of color reached Lubbock's face as he looked away. "W-Why would I be worried about that?"

The attempt to dismiss the question didn't quite work.

"Damn it, what's the point of hiding it, I guess you're kind of right. I know you two are like siblings, but we both know that's not technically the case. You're not related, and some of the stories I've heard from her about the past really don't paint the picture of ordinary siblings." His expression turned increasingly awkward as he tried to explain. "It sounds more like the two of you were extremely close childhood friends who sometimes crossed the line into being a little too intimate.”

Just what the hell did Najenda tell them to have him say such things? Sure they went to the hot springs together, but that hardly painted a picture of crossing the line. 

"She's kind of extreme, and when it comes to common sense, she can be surprisingly ignorant. Her friendship with Esdeath probably has a lot to do with that since both sides were corrupting each other in a way, but she does know where her limits are. When it matters, she knows which lines not to cross, and that's more important than whether she makes questionable decisions from time to time."

Lubock's expression did little to hide his concern. "You know, those words don't exactly inspire confidence."

A long exhale escaped the former Servant as he rubbed the side of his face. "You're killing me. Alright, how about this? I'll help you with your little journey to seduce Najenda."

The look he got was as if he offered water to a lost man in the desert on the brink of death. "F-For real? Don't be joking with me here!"

The sudden hope in the younger man's eyes made Emiya regret offering. Almost. "Of course. But I'm only giving you advice. If you actually want to win her heart, the first thing you need to do is stop looking so desperate."

Lubock's brow furrowed. "When have I ever acted desperate? I've never even confessed to her!"

"I'm not talking about a confession. I'm talking about everything else. The way you act around her, the way you look at her, the way you react whenever she gives you even the slightest bit of attention. Everything about you practically screams that you've got a massive crush on her." When he first got to meet the members of Night Raid, it only took less than an hour to figure out who this guy was crushing on. "Even someone like Sheele figured it out, and she's hardly the only perceptive person in your group. Do you honestly think Najenda wouldn't notice? She's far more observant than people give her credit for."

"Damnit." Lubock scratched the back of his head, his confidence taking another hit. "Do you think she hates it?"

"Not exactly. If anything, she probably finds it cute." A faint grin tugged at his mouth. "Like a student trying to propose to his teacher."

"What the hell!? I'm not some kind of child!"

"You're not. Your behavior, however, might make her see you that way. That's the part you need to change. If you want her to look at you as a potential partner, you need to give her a reason to stop seeing you as someone who still needs guidance."

Lubock frowned, trying to make sense of that. "How?"

"It's actually simple, even if it doesn't sound like it. Focus on becoming the best assassin you can be and keep everyone around you safe. I'm not saying you don't already do that, because you do. The difference comes from how Najenda sees you. If she starts viewing you as someone she can rely on completely, someone capable of carrying his own responsibilities without constantly needing a leader to guide him, then she might eventually start looking at you differently."

"Oh come on, are you basically telling me I need to become you?"

“…”

Hard to say if that sounded more like a compliment or not — best to go with the latter. "My traits aren't unique to me. Thousands of people possess the same qualities, and there are plenty of men who could fit what Leone might eventually want. In fact, there's someone in your own group who I could genuinely see her developing feelings for someday."

Lubock's head snapped toward him, those eyes practically screaming an endless amount of pure dread. "Who!? It's Tatsumi, isn't it? I knew I should have kept an eye on him!"

“Hahaha!” The immediate reaction nearly drew a laugh from the Counter Guardian. It would have been easy to tease him further, but there was no reason to make the poor man suffer more than necessary.

"Bulat."

"Why him!?"

"Because he already possesses several of the qualities I mentioned. He's strong enough to stand on his own, reliable enough to shoulder other people's problems, and confident enough that Najenda wouldn't constantly feel responsible for guiding him. More importantly, someone like that could give her the chance to stop being the group's former general for a while and simply be… well… Najenda, an ordinary woman who doesn't have to carry everyone else on her back.”

After a quick glance, he felt relieved that at least it looked like the assassin understood the meaning behind his words. "You're approaching her from the opposite direction. You look at her with so much admiration that you aren't really looking at her as a woman. You're looking at a former general, an undefeated fighter, someone you practically worship. She can see that in you, and that's a difficult foundation for a relationship. One person keeps giving while the other remains on a pedestal. Eventually, the relationship becomes one-sided."

“Am I really?” Lubbock rubbed his forehead, looking increasingly overwhelmed. "This is confusing as hell."

"Of course it is." Emiya couldn't help chuckling at his expression. "You don't need to figure everything out at once. There's no reason to rush. You have time, so focus on what you're doing right now rather than trying to force the future into place."

The younger assassin stared at him for several seconds before another question suddenly occurred to him.

"Then how the hell did someone like you manage to seduce Esdeath of all people?"

Ah, that question he also wished he had the answer to. Unfortunately, he did not and his expression shifted into one of genuine uncertainty. "To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure myself."

Lubock opened his mouth, apparently preparing another question, but his attention abruptly moved elsewhere. The change was subtle enough that he noticed it immediately.

"Intruder?"

Their base remained hidden from the surrounding area, carefully concealed enough that stumbling across it by accident would have been difficult. That didn't mean they could afford to become careless, especially with the situation in the Capital changing by the hour.

Lubock shook his head.

"No. Doesn't seem like it."

His gaze remained fixed on the distance.

"She's back."

A figure emerged below, dressed in a hood that concealed her features. One hand reached upward and caught hold of something nearly invisible in the air.

One of Lubock's strings.

His Imperial Arm activated at once.

The thin wire tightened with a faint twang as the assassin caught hold of it, allowing the returning figure to ascend toward their position. A moment later, the newcomer landed in front of them with a light thud.

“Phew! I'm beat!” 

A hand reached up and pulled the hood back.

Long blonde hair spilled free.

Leone's face emerged from beneath the hood as she moved over and dropped into a seat beside Lubock, looking thoroughly exhausted by whatever she had just learned.

"Thirsty, I need a drink."

With the Capital spread out in the distance below their position, the group had remained hidden while she contacted her informants. She had gone out to gather information while the others waited, and judging by her expression, whatever she had heard hadn't made the situation any easier.

He looked toward her. "How are things looking?"

"It's a total clusterfuck."

She dragged a hand down her face, visibly struggling to process everything.

"It's true. Your ex-girlfriend overthrew the Emperor and is now the Empress, for fuck’s sake. Worse than that, Grand General Budo is dead too! Just what the hell is going on in this place!? There's still no word on Honest, and we don't have any clear information about what happened to the Emperor. Best guess is they either fled or got killed. My money’s on the second one, knowing Esdeath."

Her frustration trailed into another curse as she clenched her teeth.

Emiya understood why the sudden changes had thrown her so badly. Night Raid had been created specifically to deal with Honest and the corrupt officials surrounding him. Their members might have operated as assassins and mercenaries, but they still had clear targets and a purpose behind their killings. Now, with the Empire's leadership changing so drastically and several of their most important targets either dead or missing, that purpose had suddenly become much harder to define.

"The battle didn't even last that long," she continued, forcing herself to focus on the information she had gathered. "Barely an hour, from what my informants could piece together. They evacuated the people beforehand and brought them back into the Capital once everything ended. And honestly, the damage isn't nearly as bad as I expected."

She pointed toward the distant city.

"If you didn't know what happened on the western side, you might not even realize a war had taken place. Most of the Capital looks basically untouched."

"No information about why Esdeath did it?"

A shake of the head answered that.

"My informants don't have anyone positioned high enough to get that kind of information. They're going to need time to dig deeper. Eventually, someone will talk or something will turn up."

So another dead end. No matter, knowing the answer would not change much. "It isn't that important either way."

Lubock, who had been listening closely, finally joined the conversation. "So what does that mean for us? Is the Empire still our enemy?"

"Of course it's still our enemy!"

The answer came with immediate certainty from the blonde.

"Things were already bad enough under Honest and the Child Emperor, but now we've got a psychopathic killer sitting on the throne. I wouldn't put it past her to turn the entire place into a hellscape, wipe out anyone with royal blood, or start killing people just because she feels like it."

Her hands rose in exasperation as she stared toward the Capital.

"Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if she woke up tomorrow morning and declared war on the entire world.”

Lubock scratched his head, looking between the others as he tried to follow the comparison. “Didn't Honest technically already do that?”

“Kind of, but not against the entire world.” She folded her arms. “He only did it to the neighboring kingdoms and tribes. That's still a pretty big difference.”

“We can only speculate about what comes next,” Emiya pointed out, keeping his attention on the discussion. “So don't start treating assumptions as facts. Until we know what Death intends to do, there's no point in worrying ourselves over possibilities that may never happen.”

Leone frowned as another question came to mind. “So what should we do now? Do we still try to assassinate Death?”

The look he gave her was enough to make the answer obvious.

“Don't even try.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. She's too dangerous, she'll kill us all, and we'll probably end up becoming examples of why nobody should attempt something that stupid. Blah, blah, blah, I know.” She waved a hand dismissively before continuing, “But seriously, what's our next mission here? I'm not even sure that pig is still alive. Even if he is, he's not exactly sitting on the throne anymore, so killing him doesn't matter nearly as much as it used to. Aside from settling our personal grudges, there's not much reason to waste resources on him.”

She had a point, such matters could not be ignored since they served as part of the foundation that made up the Night Raid. “For now, they will have to wait and see how Death handles the situation. If she becomes an even greater threat than Honest ever was, then the answer becomes considerably simpler. She will have to be dealt with.” 

“There is absolutely no way she's going to just forget about us.” Leone's expression turned ugly. “Especially you. After everything that happened, there's no chance she'll simply decide we're not worth pursuing anymore. Hell, she might even throw more resources into finding the Revolutionary Army and wiping it out.”

That… he could not disagree with. From everything they had learned about Esdeath, pursuing them would be entirely within her character. “If that's the case, then we'll deal with her when the time comes.”

His priorities were already clear. Najenda’s safety came first, along with the safety of the others who had fought alongside her. It would certainly be preferable if the captain avoided ending up flattened beneath some attack or frozen solid by an Imperial Arm, but those concerns came second to making sure the people Emiya had chosen to protect survived.

“For now, we'll wait for Najenda to give us our next orders. Whatever comes afterward, we can deal with it then.”

With the immediate discussion settled, Leone stretched both arms above her head, working the stiffness out of her shoulders before glancing toward the surrounding forest. “Man, all this sneaking around and gathering information has been exhausting. I could really use a massage right about now.”

Before he could react, she leaned against him and began rubbing her head against his side without the slightest attempt to hide what she was doing. He looked down at her with an expression that made it clear he was already regretting allowing the conversation to drift in this direction, while she appeared perfectly comfortable with herself.

Her gaze wandered over him for a moment before she looked back up. “Seriously, how the hell is your chest this big? You're a man, so I'm pretty sure you're still several sizes bigger than me.”

A throat clearing sounded from him.

“I'll ignore that comment. Don't get too comfortable.”

“Oh, it's fine.” She shifted closer, apparently taking his warning as nothing more than an invitation to continue teasing him. “We're deep in the forest, and the military is too busy dealing with the aftermath of the battle. There shouldn't be any scouts or soldiers patrolling this area anymore, which means nobody is going to hear us. So we can do whatever we want out here.”

She gave her stomach an idle pat as she said it, then glanced toward Lubbock.

The younger man had apparently been listening for longer than either of them realized. His face had turned red, and he immediately looked away.

“It's my turn to scout.” He reached for a string and began lowering himself from their position. “I'll go ahead and leave you two to rest. Don't mind me.”

Leone watched him descend before grinning.

“Good boy.”

Once he was far enough away, she looked back up at Emiya. “You still remember that promise you made to me?”

“I made a promise?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Her grin widened. “We were about to have our moment before all of this interrupted us.”

“Are you seriously suggesting we do that out in the open?” Emiya raised an eyebrow. “Are you in heat or something?”

“Well, you can blame my animalistic side for that.” She tapped the side of her Imperial Arm with a finger. “Just think of it as taking care of the side effects. Besides, there isn't anyone else here I can trust but you.”

“Heh, right. I completely trust that explanation.” The sarcasm could not be any more obvious.

“I don't hear a no~!”

He smirked at her. “I wouldn't mind having a taste then, after all, whatever could go wron—ah!

He hadn't even finished the sentence when Leone reached behind herself and produced a bottle of her little collection.

The cat-like grin spreading across her face told him everything he needed to know. He stared at the bottle, then at her.

“You planned for everything, didn't you?”

“Yup.”

The bottle disappeared back into her grasp as she shifted closer, her expression becoming even more mischievous.

“Now get over here!”

She suddenly launched herself at him.

Emiya barely had time to react before he caught her, his foot slipping as the unexpected tackle nearly sent both of them tumbling from their position.

“Careful! We're going to fall!”

His warning was cut short as Leone wrapped herself around him, muffling whatever else he intended to say while he struggled to keep both of them from going over the edge.

{Break}

-Revolutionary Army’s Base-

If there was one way to describe the prisons of the Revolutionary Army, it would be a filthy hellhole. 

A single particular cell remained completely dark, receiving barely any light from the hallway beyond it. There was no sunlight, no proper lamp, nothing to mark the passage of time except the occasional flicker of torchlight slipping between the bars. A rat eventually crept along the corridor, its nose twitching as it searched for anything edible. It entered the cell and sniffed along the filthy floor, moving through dirt, shit, and whatever other disgusting substances had collected there over the days. Near the wall, it found a rotten, half-eaten apple crawling with worms. The creature had barely managed to sink its teeth into the fruit before a hand came crashing down.

Crack!

A rock crushed the rat's head against the floor. Its body twitched several times before finally going still, leaving Syura with nothing but the apple and the hunger gnawing at his stomach. He pulled the worms from the fruit one by one, wiped away as much of the filth as he could, then took a bite. A few worms still wriggled from inside, but he ignored them and chewed. White tears streamed down his face as he continued eating, not because of the taste, but because of how far his life had fallen in less than a month. Not long ago, he had eaten enormous feasts where he could choose whatever he wanted, drank expensive alcohol, and sat among beautiful women as though he belonged among royalty. Now he sat inside a filthy cell, eating a rotten apple that had already been crawling with worms simply because his body needed something, anything, to keep going.

A guard peered through the bars and let out a low whistle when he noticed what had happened. "Hey, Igou, he actually ate it…"

"Of course he ate the apple. I told you he would. Get someone hungry enough and they'll eat dirt if that's all they can find. Just pray he doesn't start eating that rat too. The boss will blame us if he gets food poisoning and dies on our watch."

"But he doesn't even have any importance anymore, does he?"

"Daiki, don't think about it too much."

"Oh, come on, Igou. What's the point of keeping a prisoner whose own father doesn't even want him? We're wasting resources on a despicable bastard like this."

"If you're unhappy about it, take it up with the higher-ups."

That ended the conversation, at least for the moment, while the prisoner continued chewing the last pieces of apple. Their words had long since stopped provoking anger. After hearing the guards talk about him day after day, their voices had become little more than background noise. Yet the mention of his father still caught somewhere inside him. For a brief moment, his thoughts stalled before returning to the miserable task of finishing every scrap of food he could find.

He knew what had happened. The Revolutionary Army had tried to use him as a bargaining piece, hoping to arrange an exchange with Honest. The attempt had failed before it even began as his father had not negotiated, had not asked for proof of his condition, and had not shown even the slightest concern. He had simply ordered them to kill him and immediately shut down every attempt to use him as leverage. When Syura learned of it, rage had consumed him. 

He’d cursed himself for not killing Honest long ago and taking what he believed should have been his rightful inheritance as the man’s son. Regret, however, meant nothing now. He doubted he could survive another week in this cell, especially with the Revolutionary Army showing less and less interest in keeping him alive. If their patience finally ran out, execution would only become a matter of time.

"Hey, Daiki, I got more information about the Capital."

That caught his attention.

"Apparently, there's a war going on."

Syura slowly turned his head toward the doorway, listening more carefully than he had to any conversation in days. A war? Had the Revolutionary Army finally gathered enough strength to launch an assault against the Empire? Had they already killed the generals? His mind immediately began running through possibilities, but the conversation that followed made each one seem less likely.

"Yeah, I heard about it. Got the news this morning. Apparently, there was a coup, and the Emperor is no more. The new ruler is supposedly Esdeath. People are calling her the Ice Empress."

"That's a nice little title. Sounds pretty damn dominating compared to the Child Emperor. What was the kid's first name again? I've called him the Child Emperor for so long that I never bothered remembering it."

"Makoto?"

"Probably. Sounds familiar enough. So the Child Emperor is gone. Does that mean Honest fell too?"

"Who knows? I don't know the details. All I know is that the regime changed."

"Fuck, man. We've been fighting Honest and the Empire for so long, but lately things keep changing so damn quickly that I don't even know who we're supposed to be fighting anymore. I've got friends and family over there too. Hopefully they survived the attack."

"I really hope he died. No, I really hope he didn't die. It'd be more satisfying if the people got to execute him themselves, hang him in front of everyone or put his head beneath a guillotine. That would serve as a good reminder to anyone thinking about taking the same path."

"Yeah. I think so too."

The conversation left Syura staring toward the entrance, unable to accept what he had just heard. At the same time, none of it truly surprised him. He had warned his old man countless times that Esdeath was a crazy bitch who would eventually bite the hand that fed her and turn against the Empire. Someone like her could never be trusted, and he had always believed that betrayal would eventually come. He simply never imagined it would happen this soon.

His fist slammed into the wall.

‘Father cannot be dead. He may be a fucking idiot, but he's not that easy to kill. I won't accept it.’

The pain in his knuckles barely registered. If Esdeath truly had become Empress, then whatever chance remained of escaping through diplomacy had disappeared. His father had already abandoned him, and Syura could no longer convince himself that someone from outside would come to save him. His own teammates would rather keep their distance than risk their lives for him, leaving him alone inside a cell with little more than a rotten apple, fading hope, and the knowledge that his time might already be running out.

He… he had to get out on his own. 

Rattle!

The chains rattled as the prisoner continued moving around inside his cell, each shift of his body making the metal scrape against the restraints around his wrists and ankles. Several grunts and rough coughs escaped him as he kept making as much noise as possible, apparently with the intention of drawing the attention of the guards stationed outside. The ruckus eventually became too much for one of them to ignore.

Pa!

A loud clang rang through the corridor as a metal baton struck against the bars of the cell door, followed by an annoyed face appearing through the opening.

"Hey, prisoner! You better stop with the ruckus if you don't want to have your mouth sewn shut! Don't think I won't get inside and break your bones if that's what it takes to make you stop. I've had enough of these long shifts, and I won't hesitate to make you pay if it means relieving some of my stress."

Rather than taking the warning seriously, the prisoner continued moving around as though the threat meant nothing. "Aaaah! Aaaaaah!" His voice echoed through the cramped cell, growing louder as he grabbed the plate that had been given to him earlier and slammed it against the floor. 

Crack! 

The heavily corroded metallic plate snapped, scattering fragments in several directions. One piece caught his attention immediately. Bending down, he snatched it up and hurled it toward the door. With a bit of force, a big enough chunk was separated, grabbing onto the dead rat, its carcass struck the metal cell door with a wet sound and flew past the guard's head by barely an inch.

"What the hell? You asked for it!"

The sound of keys being pulled from the guard's belt reached the prisoner's ears moments later. Metal jingled as the correct key found the lock, followed by a click and the sudden swing of the cell door. An armored soldier stepped inside, his expression twisting with disgust as his boots pressed into the grime covering the floor. Looking around at the mess, he grimaced before covering his nose for a moment.

"Urgh, every time I get inside this place, I lose my appetite. Now shut up!"

A kick slammed into the prisoner's stomach before he could react. The impact drove the air from his lungs and sent pain through his entire body, but instead of becoming quiet, the prisoner forced another scream from his throat. "Aaaaaah!" His body curled slightly from the blow, only for another kick to follow, striking a different part of him.

"What the hell, have you finally gone crazy? I told you to shut up!"

The beating continued for several minutes. Boots struck against his body again and again, each blow drawing another grunt or cry from him as he refused to stop making noise. Eventually, however, the screaming faded. His body slumped against the floor, no longer making any attempt to move.

The sudden change caught the guard off balance. His expression shifted as he stared down at the motionless prisoner, and a nervous mutter slipped from his mouth. "Shit… I hope I didn't kill him."

One boot nudged the fallen man. When there was no response, the soldier gave him another push before crouching down, concern beginning to creep into his voice. "Hey, wake up. Come on, fuck, don't tell me you died. I'll lose my job if that's the case!"

Leaning closer, the guard reached out with his hands to check the prisoner's condition. That was the opening he had been waiting for. The supposedly unconscious prisoner suddenly moved with startling speed, his hand snapping up while still clutching a jagged piece of the place. The broken edge drove into the guard's neck before he could react, the piece snapping again and getting lodged inside his throat.

"Urgh!"

Blood sprayed across the nearby wall as the soldier staggered backward, both hands flying toward his wounded throat. His knees gave out beneath him, and he collapsed onto the filthy floor.

"Hey, Daiki, what's going on in there

Another guard had apparently grown suspicious after hearing the commotion suddenly stop. His footsteps approached the cell before he stepped through the open doorway, only to freeze at the sight of his wounded companion lying on the floor. "Shit!"

His hand immediately moved toward his sword, but the reaction came too late. From the side, a hand seized him by the neck and yanked him off balance. Before the soldier could draw his weapon, Syura lunged ahead and brought his face close. “Aaaaaargh!” 

With a powerful bite, sunk his teeth into the man's throat before yanking it with all his strength, veins and arteries pulled along the muscles. Blood spilled as his body went limp, dropping heavily onto the floor beside the first guard.

Once both guards lay motionless, the prisoner released his grip and looked down at them for only a moment. 

The sword belonging to the second soldier caught his attention. Crouching down, he picked it up from where it had fallen before turning toward the dark hallway beyond the cell. With the weapon in hand, his figure slipped away into the dim corridor, leaving the two bodies behind as his footsteps gradually disappeared into the depths of the prison.

“Haha…”

A broken and hollow laugh echoed from a blood soaked mouth.