Ch 305: Jeagers, assemble!

"Ah, that really hits the spot." smiled Najenda as she joined the group of onlookers, holding a now empty mug.

Leone was fighting Akame as part of an impromptu tournament between the members of Night Raid, Taeko representing the Oarburgh family, and the former Elite Seven.

Every member of the former Elite Seven had eventually agreed to follow Miwa's command, on the conditions that they could independently verify the guilt of the targets they were sent after, and that Miwa and the others would try to subdue rather than kill the other imperial assassins of their generation, the former kids who had been sent into that deadly forest.

As their agreement had been secured by contracts made with Akeno, no one was worried about them anymore… Still, it will take a long time for some of them to let go of their anger toward Miwa.

"Is it really okay to drink beer mid-morning, Najenda?" asked Miwa, smiling.

"It's fine. I have a huge alcohol tolerance! You'll never see me too drunk to fight." grinned Najenda.

"I'm not sure this is something worth bragging about." muttered Luna.

Najenda smiled at her, and put her mug on a table.

She suddenly lifted her head as she spotted a falcon diving toward them. The bird slowed down when it came close, circled once, then flew to Najenda when she lifted her mechanical arm, landing on it.

Najenda took the parchment slip tied to the falcon's left leg and took from a pouch a chunk of red meat that the falcon eagerly accepted, starting to tear into it.

She unfurled the slip, read its content, and threw it into the nearby fire.

"Taeko, Chelsea, I have a question for you." asked Najenda.

"Is this about the message you just received?"

"Yes. This came from the Revolutionary Army. It seems the Head or the Oarburgh family wishes to meet with us. She doesn't know exactly where we are, so they asked the Army to relay their request to us." shrugged Najenda.

She wasn't actually so sure. She wouldn't be surprised if the Oarburgh family already knew and was waiting close by, but wanted to give them prior warning of their coming so that the members of Night Raid didn't assume it could be an attack.

As a general rule, assassins reacted poorly to the sudden appearance of armed intruders around their hideouts.

"Why do you think your leader wants to meet us? I can think of a few reasons, but I'd like your take on it."

Chelsea and Taeko exchanged a glance and a shrug.

"I'm not really surprised." said Chelsea as she looked back at Najenda. "Merraid-sama has… a great love for pretty girls, let's say. One that is only matched by her contempt for men. That is even more so when said girls are also strong."

"Chelsea and I almost got 'devoured' several times." confirmed Taeko with an uneasy expression.

"It could be said that Merraid-sama's personal goal, aside from ensuring the prosperity of the Oarburgh family, is to teach girls that 'true love' is something that can only exist between two women. If Babara accurately described to her the events of that night, then to Merraid-sama, Miwa and her companions must be an irresistible lure, both for their looks and for their power."

"Ah? So she's that kind of person?" frowned Najenda. She glanced at Miwa standing near, who shrugged.

"I have no objections to meeting her, at least. And if she tries something underhanded, the one in our basement will get some company."

…

Kurome sighed again as she saw her sister's wanted poster as they walked down the street.

"I'm sure there must have been a mistake somewhere, Kurome. Or maybe your sister only pretended to defect in order to infiltrate the Revolutionary Army?" suggested Womyn, pushing her glasses up her nose in a nervous gesture.

"I hope you're right. If she has been misled by the enemy…" muttered Kurome.

They reached their destination, entered, and handed their invitation and identification papers to the dozen soldiers near the reception.

"You are expected." nodded the receptionist after Kurome and her companions passed the security checkpoint. "Please follow him."

The soldier who had just been designated nodded and led them deeper into the Army's Headquarters. Kurome watched around curiously as they walked. So far, things were more or less as she imagined this place to be. Large buildings, three or four stories high, with plenty of courtyards for training or learning to move in formation. She could see several large stables in the distance. But something was off. Before she could put her finger on it, Natala spoke.

"Is it me, or there are surprisingly few soldiers there."

"General Esdeath's orders." shrugged the soldier leading the way. "The Headquarters' have been almost emptied. The patrols have been reinforced. She hopes the insurgents will see an opportunity and attack this place."

Kurome frowned and glanced at Gin walking beside her.

"The less people see us, the better." shrugged the silver-haired girl.

Kurome nodded doubtfully. As an assassin, anonymity was her greatest weapons, and she could only agree with the logic. However, a place as important as the Headquarters should remain heavily defended, in her opinion, not used as bait.

The guard eventually stopped in front of large double doors.

"Please wait inside until General Esdeath comes to brief you." nodded the guard before leaving.

Kurome, never the kind to hesitate, grabbed the doors' handles and puled them open, then entered the room, large enough for fifty people to sit comfortably around the long table at its center. A few people were already present, and Kurome studied each of them in turns for a second.

Sitting closest to the door Was a tall man with wide shoulders. He wore black pants, and his muscular torso was naked, while his head was covered With a white and black gas mask. Kurome had already seen this man once during a previous mission but didn't remember his name. She knew he was part of the Incineration Squad.

Facing him was a young man with slightly wavy, neck-length blonde hair, a feather pin behind his left ear, and golden eyes, dressed in a white robe over a black tunic. He smiled pleasantly at Kurome and her companions.

"Hey there!" waved a young woman with dark, tanned skin, green eyes and blonde hair styled into two pigtails. She wore long beige leggings and an open shirt, revealing a bikini top of the same color.

Sitting a little farther away were two more people. The first was a young woman with long auburn hair in a ponytail and amber eyes, dressed in light steel armor above a black undersuit. A plushy white and black dog was sitting on the table in front of her, and Kurome blinked when it turned its head toward them.

The last person was someone Kurome recognized from the descriptions she had heard of him, as he was fairly famous as a genius scientist in the medical field. Dr Stylish. He was tall and slim, with short black hair, although a patch on his left was white, had blue eyes, wore hexagonal glasses, and wore a yellow suit with a blue shirt and a tie. A white lab coat was hanging from the back of his chair.

"Greetings." said Natala with a nod of the head. "We have been invited by General Esdeath. Is this the right place?"

"It is." nodded the tanned girl. "You must be from the second group of assassins. I'm Mez. Gozuki who leads the first group is… was… my old man."

She sobered suddenly, then shrugged.

"I am Natala, and this is Kurome, Gin, and Womyn."

"Welcome." smiled the blonde man. "My name is Ran."

"I am Bols. It is nice to meet you." nodded the man from the Incineration squad with a surprisingly gentle voice.

"I'm Seryu! And this is my partner, Koro!" exclaimed the girl with auburn hair as she stood and saluted. The small being, that was neither a plushie nor a dog, straightened and imitated her salute.

"I am Doctor Stylish. It is nice to meet you." nodded Dr Stylish with a suave voice. "I have heard a little about your achievements until now. You have done some good work."

Kurome nodded in acknowledgement, feeling slightly happy that their efforts had been recognized.

It had not been easy, nor painless. Far from it. At the start, when they started training to become assassins, she had nine comrades. Nine companions, for her to share support and sorrow with. But over time, as some of them couldn't endure the harsh training, or the experimental combat drugs, or took losses during missions, Kurome, Natala, Gin and Womyn were the only ones left.

"Thank you, Dr." smiled Natala.

"Please call me Doctor Stylish." smiled Stylish.

"As you wish, Doctor Stylish." nodded Natala.

He walked to take a chair beside Seryu, keeping an empty seat between them, and Kurome and the others sat beside and facing him.

"Doctor Stylish, do you know how many more are expected before the General comes?" asked Seryu with an eager expression.

"The other Rakshasa Demons and the Three Beasts are discussing something with General Esdeath." smiled Mez, leaning back against the back of her chair.

"And you aren't with them?" asked Stylish, an eyebrow raised. "You're one of the Rakshasa Demons as well."

"Nah." grinned Mez. "They were talking about boring stuff within the military, and I dozed off. Sten told me I could leave, and he'd tell me the important parts later."

"General Esdeath also mentioned a promising navy recruit possessing a Teigu." shrugged Stylish.

As if mentioning her repeatedly had summoned her, the doors opened again, and a young women wearing a white and black military uniform strode in confidently, followed by six more people.

Kurome had heard enough about Esdeath to recognize her instantly, and when their eyes met for a second, she stiffened. There was an absolute confidence in Esdeath's gaze, and something else she couldn't quite define.

Esdeath frowned for an instant before smiling again.

"Good morning, everyone. I see Wave isn't there yet. He better have a good excuse. But let's begin anyway. I am Esdeath, and you gathered here at my request. I wanted fifteen or so of the Empire's strongest, and here you are."

"It's an honor to have been selected, General!" exclaimed Seryu with a proud expression, and Esdeath nodded at her.

"I hereby…" Esdeath's words were cut off when the door opened once again, and a handsome young man with short black hair and a navy uniform, a navy bag slung over his shoulder.

"Ah, hello? I'm Wave." said the man as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think I…"

"You are late!" cut in Esdeath.

Kurome blinked, as she expected the General to be unhappy, but she was… smiling?

"I'm sorry, but no time for the meeting was given, and…"

"No excuses. You came after me, so you are late." cut in Esdeath again, pointing to the ground. "Two hundred push-ups, now!"

Wave shrugged and set his bag to the ground, then put himself down, ready to start. Two hundred push-ups would barely make him winded.

However, as soon as he was in position, Esdeath sat cross-legged on his upper back.

"Why are you freezing? Start already, and I want to hear you count." commanded Esdeath, suddenly having a riding crop in hand, and swatting Wave's butt hard to motivate him.

"Ouch! One… Two… Three" said Wave with gritted teeth, feeling mortified, as he started moving. And maybe a tiny bit happy by the sensation of the butt cheeks against his shoulder blades.

"As I was saying, I hereby declare that you are now all part of a new elite group, named the Jaegers. Our first mission will be to track down and neutralize Night Raid. They have grown into a much bigger nuisance recently. It seems that they have been joined by another group of assassins, one that killed a lot of important individuals over the last few weeks, as well as a group of former Imperial Assassins turned renegade."

"General, can you please let me deal with my sister, or maybe take her alive?" pleaded Kurome with a tight voice. "I'm sure she must have been misled somehow. I can save her and make her join the Empire again, I know it!"

Esdeath glanced at her for a few seconds, her face inscrutable, then nodded. "Akame served the Empire well before she joined with Night Raid, as did you. You will get your chance to convince her."

"Thank you, General." sighed Kurome in intense relief.

"I won't guarantee she'll escape all punishment even if you convince her, but at least, she'll be able to resume her work to atone for her misdeeds." smiled Esdeath.

"General, do we have any clue about their location?" asked Mez, leaning forward. She was always up for a good fight, and it was very likely Night Raid that that killed her father. She hadn't been very close to him, but he had still been her father.

"Doctor Stylish assured me that one of his soldiers would be able to follow their scent, like a hunting dog."

"He can." nodded Stylish. "I modified his nose to give him a better sense of smell than even a hunting dog."

"Good." nodded Esdeath, before bringing her riding crop hard on Wave's butt once again. "I don't remember allowing you to slow down!"

Esdeath looked back at each of the other people present.

"The next time Night Raids show up, the hunt is on!"

…

Shizuka sighed, thinking once again that this wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she asked Sakura and Rin to train her and teach her those special combat techniques.

She had imagined some kind of hardcore martial training montage, maybe with some kind of mystical acupuncture technique.

Instead, what she, Eru and Kei had gotten was a crash course in the BDSM lifestyle, and not as dominants. She hated it so much at first, had felt scammed, betrayed. And yet, after only two weeks, Kei, the one amongst them who had resisted this kind of training the least, had somehow become able to use those abilities overnight.

Shizuka didn't understand how this BDSM training correlated with gaining those abilities, and yet, it seemed like it actually did. She had asked Sakura about it, but the purple-haired girl had simply smiled, and replied that she would tell her once Shizuka became completely comfortable with being a sexual submissive, and then it would all make sense.

And Shizuka knew that she was well on her way to reaching that state. It was strange, but the way Rin and Sakura treated her, the lewd fetishes outfits they were forcing on her, the sexual activities, were growing on her, and she was worried about how fast she was falling into that role.

Had she always been a pervert, deep inside? Was this training bringing to the surface something that had been part of her all along?

With another sigh, Shizuka stopped her introspection and rose from the bed, put on the knee-high, high-heeled, black leather boots that were waiting beside the bed, and stood. If her sense of time wasn't completely skewed, a new day of training was about to start.

She walked to the full-length mirror, examining her appearance. From the neck down, she was wearing a black leather collar, a black latex bodysuit with a front zip, glossy and polished to perfection. The bodysuit was currently half open and showing a lot of cleavage. She also had on short black latex gloves, and now the boots. Her bed hair didn't diminish the outfit's lewdness in the slightest. If anything, it added to it, like she had just been engaging in intense sex.

She had changed, over the last two weeks and a half of training inside the sanctuary, and she thought that the changes in her appearance were actually the least of it.

Staring at herself, Shizuka realized it wouldn't be much longer now. Not much longer before she submitted completely to Sakura and Rin. Not much longer before she embraced a life of submission.

…

"At this rate, the wall will be completed by the end of the week. Give it a few more days for the cement to harden properly, and it will be ready. The bottleneck is the soldiers' training." said Da Vinci to Roland and his father, the king.

They were sitting in Roland's office, along with a few witches and Agents.

"Carter is in charge of their formation." nodded Roland. "He tells me they are progressing reasonably well. But there's only fifty-two of them."

"As soon as the ships are completed at the dock, they will start ferrying people from the capital's slums. And Takina and Chisato should soon be back from Longsong Stronghold."

Ciel nodded. Her two friends had left the day before for the fortress, where the population of Border Town typically took refuge during winters, while the Demonic Beasts rampaged. And the stronghold made them pay dearly for this protection, something that had been a major obstacle to the town's prosperity.

But this year, the citizens of Border Town would enter Longsong Stronghold, wouldn't pay anything to Duke Ryan. Roland didn't expect him to react well to the news.

"There is an issue with this, however." sighed Nightingale, picking from a plate a dried fish snack. "So close to the start of the months of Demons, even if you offer attractive wages for workers, Your Highness, they will only be interested in moving to Border Town after they receive proof that it is safe to do so. I fear they may not come in large numbers until after the winter. The rumors about us witches will also make them hesitate."

Ciel nodded as the room was for a second illuminated by light that didn't come from the morning sun. Fern was training her magic, sending thick beams of white light from her staff toward the sky. Her magic wasn't quite light, as it travelled fast, but didn't reach anywhere near a relativist speed. It wasn't plasma either, as the beam didn't emit radiant heat. The effects of her magic actually was close to that of a Gundam's particle rifle.

But whatever is was, her beams were very good at vaporizing things. Of all the witches Ciel and her friends had saved, Fern likely was the strongest, as least in terms of direct combat.

The citizens were starting to grow used to seeing or hearing the witches train as well. Nana, who could heal injuries, and had done so for miners and laborers a number of times already, was already starting to have an effect on their initial hostility.

"We can't exactly kidnap people to make them move in, so I am afraid we'll have to make do without them for now." shrugged Roland. "Da Vinci, how soon do you think we can save that witch Noah mentioned?"

"If I devote most of the day to it, I can have a small satellite in orbit by tonight. Then, it will depend on how hard this decrepit tower is to find. If it isn't too overgrow with vegetation or under tree cover, We could sent Ciel and Karen, for example, as soon as tonight."

"I want to help search for her, too!".

"How will you put your satellite in orbit?" asked Roland, his engineer soul fired up. "We don't have facilities for a proper launch pad. Will you simply use your magic to create rocket fuel?"

"No." chuckled Da Vinci. She was very fond of Roland and saw him like a gifted student, almost a disciple. "We'll use a gravity drive. It will be much more discreet."

"A gravity drive!" exclaimed Roland, suddenly standing. "How does it works?"

"I think I'll take my leave before Da Vinci gets started on explaining this one." smiled Ciel. "The last time I asked her about it, all I got was a headache."

"Maybe I should explain tonight, then, while we wait for the results of the preliminary scan." grinned Da Vinci.

With a small gravity drive, a fusion plant, and a sensor and communication suite, Da Vinci's first satellite would be relatively small, likely massing under three hundred kilograms.

But she had more planned for later. More capable surveillance satellites, and even a few that would be… kept in reserve, ready to use their drives to re-enter the atmosphere at hypersonic speed.

The Demon's flying island Noah had warned them about, wouldn't be allowed to stay long in the sky.