3rd Person POV
Unknown Location
"Is he... always like this?" Chelsea asked, kneeling next to Akame as the Air Manta flew through the sky, the remaining members of Night Raid on its back.
"Tatsumi?" Akame asked, glancing toward the boy as he pumped a fist into the air.
"Yeah!"
Chelsea shook her head. "Not him." Turning, she nodded toward James as he stood casually on the Air Manta's back, gazing off into the distance. "Him."
"What about him?" Akame asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Well, aside from the fact that he's from another world, which I still can't say I can wrap my head around," Chelsea laughed, a strange hint of unease in her voice. "He seems... well, different from what Najenda told me."
"How so?" Akame asked. Did she notice something I didn't? she thought worriedly. But that's impossible, no one knows James better than I do... right?
"Ever since we took off, all he's been doing is... well, just staring," Chelsea explained, shrugging. "When we first met, he seemed just like Najenda described. Then when we left..." She trailed off. "You get what I'm saying?"
Akame nodded, glancing back toward her... friend?... as he stared out toward the sky, his face unreadable.
Catching her gaze, James glanced at her, and a question flashed over the Drift.
She wants to know what's wrong with you, Akame explained. It was strange, speaking over the Drift. It was like she was speaking, except she never opened her mouth, yet the words still escaped her. As do I... she added quietly.
James winced, glancing toward the horizon, thoughts and emotions clashing inside him as the events from Stylish's attack swept through his mind again and again, as if on replay. Stylish turning himself into a Kaiju.... If he perfected the serum and mass-produced it, or if Slattern figures out how to use it, the Empire could have dozens of Danger Beast/Kaiju hybrids at their disposal. Then again, the Empire's the least of my concerns if Slattern has his own agenda.
A bolt of agony shot up his spine, and he winced, his muscles locking temporarily before releasing in a stream of warm pain throughout his arms. That Trump Card is no joke, James thought, wincing. The drawbacks had been easier than the first time he had accessed the Trump Card, but still...
"James?" Akame asked, and he glanced over to find her standing at his side, balancing precariously on the back of the Danger Beast. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," James assured.
She stared at him, and he sighed. "Alright. It's just... I can't stop thinking about Stylish's Hybrid."
"What about it?"
"It's just... Slattern can control the Hivemind, so if he finds Stylish's experimental Danger Beasts and gains control of them—"
"How do you know he has Danger Beasts like that?" Akame asked.
"He's a mad scientist, Akame," James explained, sitting down and glancing at Sheele's unconscious form draped over Susanoo's shoulder. "I doubt he'd test a prototype on himself without first using Kaiju Blue on other subjects."
"But that's not all, is it?" Akame asked, moving herself so that she was kneeling in front of him, her eyes locked with his.
James took a shaky breath, but before he could respond, they heard the sound of laughter and turned to where Tatsumi was pumping a fist in the air.
YOU ARE READING
Akame Ga Kill: Uprising
FanfictionThe Breach. A portal between dimensions. When the nuke detonated, James Becket should have been blown to an early grave... but instead, he was brought to another dimension. A dimension of corruption, greed, and mythical superweapons known as Imperia...
