Akame ga Kill: Starting with Dual Kamui-Chapter 96: Kurome is Acting Spoiled Again

By the time Akame and Kurome returned to the Night Raid base, it was already quite late.

For Blayn and Kurome, this was their first time visiting the base.

Nestled in the mountains, the Night Raid base was well-hidden from the back, shielded by towering peaks. However, from the front, it was completely exposed.

Even so, the Empire had yet to discover its location.

"It wouldn't be surprising if your base got discovered one of these days..." Blayn remarked.

Leone laughed heartily. "Don't sweat the details."

"But are you really fine with me knowing where your base is?" Blayn asked.

After all, he wasn't part of Night Raid or the Revolutionary Army—his cooperation with them was only temporary.

"No problem," Najenda replied. "After today's mission, we all agree that you and Kurome are trustworthy allies, so bringing you here isn't an issue."

"But don't forget," Blayn reminded her bluntly, "once Honest's regime falls, our ideals will clash."

"That's fine. We'll just move to a new base," Najenda said nonchalantly.

"...Alright then."

Blayn didn't push the issue further. There was no need for him to worry about their affairs.

"Speaking of which, Akame and Kurome should be back by now. It's already this late," Sheele commented.

Najenda nodded. "It's about time. I told them not to linger in the Imperial Capital too long, even if they couldn't find Zanku the Beheader."

Then, glancing at Blayn and Kurome, she added, "Since it's so late, why don't you both stay the night? We have plenty of spare rooms."

"Works for me."

Blayn had no reason to refuse, especially since Kurome hadn't returned yet—he wasn't about to leave without her.

Just then, Leone felt something was off. After a moment of thought, she realized what it was—Mine hadn't said a single word.

At a time like this, Mine not voicing her opinion felt oddly unnatural.

Leone grinned and sidled up to her, whispering, "Hey, Mine, don't you hate Blayn? The boss just invited him to stay the night, but you don't seem to mind at all."

Caught off guard, Mine instinctively tensed. "I-I'm not some unreasonable person, okay? Besides, that guy did pretty well today, so... I guess I can acknowledge him a little."

Hearing this, Leone's grin widened knowingly.

She seemed to have figured something out—but she chose not to say anything.

...

After a while, Akame and Kurome returned as expected.

"How did the mission go?" Najenda asked immediately.

"The mission is complete. Kurome killed Zanku the Beheader," Akame reported.

"As expected, Kurome is impressive. You two working together make for an unstoppable team," Najenda remarked.

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Before this, Kurome had been one of the Revolutionary Army's most feared enemies, a top assassin of the Empire. Now, she had more or less become one of their own.

"Commander, Zanku the Beheader is now part of Yatsufusa. His abilities seem decent, but unfortunately, they're useless against me," Kurome said as she walked over to Blayn, looking like a child awaiting praise.

And she wasn't wrong. Spectator's abilities were almost entirely countered by Kurome.

Insight, which allowed Zanku to read his opponent's thoughts, was ineffective against Kurome's corpse puppets—after all, they had no thoughts to read.

Farsight and Clearsight weren't suited for combat to begin with.

Foresight was similar to the Sharingan in function, but Zanku's physical abilities were no match for Kurome's. Foresight alone couldn't bridge the gap between them, especially when she had Yatsufusa.

As for Illusion Sight? That was completely useless. If Kurome ever needed to kill Akame, she would do it without hesitation.

"Well done," Blayn said, recognizing that Kurome was looking for praise.

But she still seemed unsatisfied.

She slightly lifted herself onto her toes, clearly expecting a head pat.

Blayn hesitated for a moment. Seeing her eager gaze, he finally raised his hand and patted her head.

"Hehe~" Kurome beamed with joy.

Akame, watching from the side, froze in place.

The relationship between Blayn and Kurome... this wasn't normal, was it?

Would a simple superior and subordinate act like that?

Then again... maybe it wasn't impossible.

She recalled how, despite Kurome's usual cold demeanor toward outsiders, she was actually quite warm at heart. Back when they were in the Imperial Assassination Unit together, Kurome often clung to her.

Akame wasn't the best at reading people, so even though she initially felt something was off about Blayn and Kurome's interactions, she quickly brushed aside her suspicions.

...

Meanwhile, the others had also taken notice.

No one said anything, but certain individuals were deep in thought—particularly Mine and Chelsea.

Watching Blayn and Kurome's close interaction, Mine felt an inexplicable irritation welling up inside her.

"No, wait! Why am I getting annoyed? Who cares what that guy does!"

She lightly patted her own cheeks, trying to shake off the feeling.

Compared to Mine, Chelsea was much more self-aware.

She had already noticed Blayn and Kurome's unusual relationship back when she infiltrated the Assassination Unit disguised as a black cat.

Now that she had acknowledged her own feelings for Blayn, seeing him interact so intimately with Kurome did make her a little jealous.

As much as she hated to admit it, she had broken one of an assassin's biggest taboos.

She, someone who could die on a mission at any time... had actually developed feelings for someone.

It was reckless, it was foolish—but now that it had happened, she had no intention of regretting it.

Someday, if she got the chance... she wanted Blayn to praise her too.

...

"It's getting late. Blayn, Kurome, pick whichever room you like, but fair warning—most of them haven't been used in a while, so they're probably covered in dust," Najenda said.

"If you need help cleaning up, just let us know."

"Uh..."

Akame was the first to speak. "I want to sleep with Kurome, so she can stay in my room."

"Of course. As long as you're fine with it," Najenda said with a nod.

"It's fine," Akame affirmed.

"I want to sleep with my sister too!" Kurome said happily.

"Alright then... let's clean up Blayn's room."

Najenda suddenly gave Blayn a look of sympathy.

"...You don't have to worry about me that much," Blayn muttered, feeling a bit exasperated.

Before long, his room was tidied up.

But while the others left, Chelsea remained.

"Chelsea? Not heading to bed?" Blayn asked.

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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