Crimson Rebellion

Year: 1024

Morning would come not long after as the stormy night was now replaced by gray overcast skies. As per usual, the assassins of Night Raid would rise from their slumber to prepare for another day. In the time following Budou's defeat, there was stillness in the air as both factions needed time to rethink their strategies and prepare for the future.

Stepping out into the corridor outside of his bedroom, the young boy with emerald green eyes named Tatsumi stretched his arms and rubbed his eyes. As with every morning, the kid headed downstairs to get ready for his 6:30 training session before breakfast. Once in the living lounge, he spotted the whole group in Night Raid's quote-on-quote 'unofficial' meeting room. Najenda was in her usual spot, sitting on her throne-looking chair while the remainder of the group formed an incomplete circle around the room. Surprisingly enough, four figures stood side by side at the heart of the group—one of them was Raizo—but the other four were unknown to the brunette male.

Spotting Tatsumi on the upper end of her vision, Najenda signals an order for the boy to join the group which he does. On his way, Tatsumi catches a quick glimpse of who he assumed could be either visitors or recruits—a general who looked an awful lot like Akame and a red-eyed girl with pale skin and long dark brown hair covered by a hooded red cloak. In front of them, Raizo and another tall individual stood just ahead of the boss. The explanation for this sudden meeting was rather complex. Soon all members of Night Raid present within the room would come to understand why that is as Raizo began to explain the origins of the three new presences in the room. The concept of different worlds, guardians, and World-Ending forces, were all fairly new things to everyone but they listened to Raizo's words regardless.

"And that's all. It probably sounds crazy but…"

"I believe you," Najenda was quick to interrupt before turning her attention toward the taller male next to the young wolf.

"But I have to ask, who are your two companions…Akaro was it?" she inquired next in her typical leading tone.

"Go ahead, introduce yourselves," Akaro says enthusiastically to his two team members. Almost immediately after that, the woman in imperial attire parted her lips to speak.

"My name is Akame, but you probably already guessed as much. My looks don't deceive you… I am the adult counterpart of the girl standing amongst you," Akame remarked calmly whilst locking her gaze upon her younger self who stood in between Tatsumi and Chelsea.

At the moment the younger Akame looked as if she was having trouble breathing. Her cheeks were reddened as if she was blushing and her eyes constantly focused on Akaro. It was almost as if his mere presence made her a boiling pot of emotions. Still most present did not pay attention to her at the moment as they were too impressed by the older Akame.

"Wow~ Akame got big. Those breasts are bigger than mine!" Leone exclaimed. She could barely contain her urge to lay her hands upon her best friend's future boobs. However before the cat lady could give in to her less-than-pure feelings, the girl in the hooded red cloak lowered her hood to unveil just what was hidden underneath.

Eyes of crimson flooded with a powerful presence and a facial structure comparable to that of a beautiful young model with perfect and smooth pale skin, and long dark hazel hair that cascaded down her shoulder. A mere look at the girl was enough to send the entire room into a collective gasp. Her presence was that special someone you'd admire and respect without doubt or question—the presence of a boundless goddess amongst inferior beings that nevertheless gave her full attention to those who aspired to match her presence.

With a perfect white smile, she slowly looked around herself almost as if she was remembering something. Even Raizo who had received training from Akame to better contain his emotions could do nothing but grab hold of his chest as he felt the God that resided inside of him resonate with the feeling of anxiety and surprise. More than that, he was enthralled by that young woman. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on, an ineffable beauty that awoke something deep in Raizo, a boundless love he was not quite ready to understand or even feel.

"My name is Kimiko Hanate. In my world… I became part of Night Raid. Like all of you, I fought against a world of corruption… yet unlike you I later fought against gods and demons. At the end of it all, I emerged victorious and unrivaled thanks to the comrades who stood by me. Stay strong my friends…," the girl spoke with a gentle smile and honest words.

Although not aware of their true meaning, the members of Night Raid all took them to heart. Some even respectfully bowed their heads down for a girl they barely knew yet at the same time felt strong sympathy towards.

"Raizo...can I keep her?!" Leone asked out loud before jumping towards the distracted young man, slamming her breasts against his face.

"Muaummmahalp" the youth spouted out as he slowly but surely suffocated in an ocean of cleavage. Meanwhile, Najenda and the others attempted to regain their composure and focus on the three assassins who had just introduced themselves. Seeing as how the younger Akame still looked rather agitated, the boss decided to check on her subordinate and friend.

"So Akame, uh our Akame, what's wrong? You have been trying your hardest to not look at our visitor, but...why?" She asks rather bluntly. Her statement draws everyone's attention to the young Akame.

"Are you okay?" Tatsumi questioned, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

In the meantime, the older Akame looked over to Akaro with an expression that screamed 'explain this to them because I'm not going to'. For the sake of not complicating things any further, the Red-Eyed Hero simply nods in agreement.

"I- It feels as if surges of visions, emotions, and memories are entering my mind every passing second," The young girl said to herself with her head lowered. Walking up to her, Akaro lowers himself down from his 6'6 stature down to the girl's field of view.

"Sorry about this, Akame. Being in the same room with another version of yourself from a parallel universe is just bound to have some bad effects on you," He explains looking at the young assassin eye to eye before messing around with her hair while giving out a gentle smile. In response, Akame showed some emotion that she generally kept hidden from herself as her blushing became visible to all. Her face was now just one or two inches away from Akaro's lips. The younger Akame was drifting gradually closer to them, eventually going for a kiss. This turn of events immediately sends the room into another collective gasp. The heartwarming moment however is soon broken as Akaro is karate chopped on the back of the head by the other Akame present behind him.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He shouts out in pain while holding the sides of his head.

"You were supposed to explain to the other me why she's feeling the way she's feeling, not go full-on lady-killer, idiot!" The adult Akame explains as she rolled her eyes in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's not my fault every version of you automatically falls for me because of our connection!" Akaro retorted back.

While that happened, Kimiko simply observed the situation with a deadpan look. "Couples...go figure," she thought to herself. Laughter soon rose from around the room as the members of Night Raid began to quickly enjoy their guest's company while Raizo was still being picked on by Leone.

"Alright you three, the banter is good and all but I assume we're working on a timer here," Najenda points out bringing the mood down a bit and everyone's attention back to the situation that brought them together in the first place. Aware of this, Raizo lets go of his girlfriend and joins the Red-Eyed trio, standing to Akaro's right while Kimiko and Akame stood left, the group shares a moment of silence before finally breaking it dramatically.

"You're right about that, boss. We are working on a timer and… which is why I'm unfortunately having to use you all as bait," Akaro said.

A deafening silence filled the room. Before any questions could be answered, a silent, childish giggle slowly emerged getting louder and louder as a small but deadly figure appeared at the entrance behind the members of Night Raid.

"Scary, oh so scary Crimson Knight..." The little girl with pure white hair and skin mocked as she casually stepped into the circle of assassins, "I love it when people try to outsmart me...but even I didn't expect you to use my brother's wannabe friends as bait."

With her primrose eyes now set upon the assassin with white and black hair, this vexing lolita smiled meekly at Raizo while the Blood Wolf himself stared at the girl with his eyes opened wide.

"But you look just like...." stumbling on his own words, the man now known throughout the Empire as the Crimson Harbinger of Death doubted his own eyes; however, the others weren't so kind as to wait.

"INCURSIO!" Shouting out the name of his teigu, Tatsumi dawns the evolved version of his powerful armor. Charging in alongside, Leone had also activated her teigu. The pair of assassins attack the young girl directly—Tatsumi with his spear and Leone with her claws. Unfortunately for them, the little girl was stronger and faster than she looked.

Sidestepping away from their attacks, the invader grabbed a hold of Leone's wrist only to then send a wave of electricity through her entire body to paralyze her movements. Following this, she sends the busty blond flying into Tatsumi by tossing Leone as if she had no weight at all. Both assassins broke through several walls of concrete before falling unconscious on the grass outside.

The younger Akame reached for her Murasame blade, but the white-haired girl vixen was relentless. Reappearing next to the Red-Eyed Killer in a blur, she slammed her open palm into the girl's stomach and then lifts her up into the air using a strange form of electromagnetism or telekinesis that manifested as white energy that enveloped the assassin.

Three teigu users were defeated in an instant. Raizo was starting to realize

With a malicious smirk, the enigmatic female relished in her victory. All who remained standing were Raizo, Akaro, Kimiko, the adult Akame, Chelsea, and Najenda—the latter now having a grim reminder of what it felt to be like utterly powerless in the face of an unconquerable force. In that moment of desperation, all the boss could ask was.

"Just what the hell are you?!" Najenda inquired.

"Me? Many names have been associated with me: Crimson Annihilation, Destroyer of Worlds, Omen of Chaos, and Godspeed. But you may call me by my real name… I am Vesta Arashi," she responded while running one of her hands across the bangs of hair in front of her eyes, sweeping them aside.

"The multiverse is a small place…" The girl added as she turned to face Raizo who was now far too busy clenching his fists. After watching his loved ones being handled like toys and beaten to a pulp he was radiating with electrical energy, Raizo's black hair gleaned with a twist of silver and white; under his eyes, dark indigo trails went down his cheeks while his red hues illuminated a brighter shade of red. The Fury of the Storm state was in full effect.

"I don't care who or even what you are anymore, Vesta. The moment you hurt those close to me was the moment you bought the death sentence," The lightning-wielding assassin spoke strongly. Still, Vesta didn't seem to feel threatened at all.

"Fury of the Storm versus Fury of Tempest huh? Well then… let's fight until the world ends, my sweet little brother!" she mockingly exclaimed as the same dark indigo trails appeared beneath her eyes, "Once it's all over, I'll devour the god who fuels your speed and add it to my own."

The ground shook, the wind blew, and dark clouds with roaring thunder clouds formed in the sky above as the two Stormbringers stared each other down. It was then that Akaro stepped in, standing beside Raizo in this moment of rage.

"Akame, Kimiko, do me a solid and take Najenda, Chelsea, and the others somewhere safe. Raichu and I will take care of this sassy lost child," Akaro declared before slamming his right fist against his open left palm just as Raizo brought out his dual blades. The little girl who stood before the two smiled as she saw the two prepare for what was to be a final stand for the sake of saving the world.

"When our prayers could not reach the scattered sky where the stars sparkled silently, they instead filled up the heavens and earth. Even then, our prayers were forgotten by those known as gods. Wanting wings to escape this hell, everyone cried yet none were given. In the end, all were burned with the only exception being the girl who drank from a God's poison. Come Red-Eyed Stormbringer and Crimson Knight. Let us show this world a bloodbath bigger than that massacre of five years ago!"

With those last daring words spoken by Vesta, the dark heavens roared with rage and the battle between three of the top legendary assassins in history began. However, as the auras of electricity belonging to the two Stormbringers met, something occurred. Raizo felt his consciousness fade out for a zeptosecond. At that time, a vision overtook him. This was a vision not of his tragic past but of the powerful enemy in front of him.