Akame Ga Kill: Uprising

Chapter 27: Kill the Little Sister

3rd Person POV

Night Raid Base

"Why?" Tatsumi asked, hands on the end of the table as he faced away from Najenda (who was seated on her 'throne') and the other assassins, his expression dark. The others remained silent, Leone, Chelsea, Apex, Odachi, and Lubbock standing off to one side with Seryu, Koro, James, and Akame on the other, the red-eyed assassin practically attached to James as Mine stood beside Tatsumi. Lubbock had made a full recovery by the time they had returned but was still wincing through the occasional phantom pain. "Why would you allow him to die just to save me and James? Why would you all risk that?"

They had returned several days ago, and, after taking the time to wind down and finally process things... the full loss of Susanoo was hitting everyone hard, Tatsumi most of all.

"Get over yourself," Najenda ordered, her voice hollow.

He turned to face her, shocked.

"If we hadn't stopped that execution, it would've seriously damaged the Revolutionary Army's morale," she stated coldly, causing Akame's grip to tighten as she held James possessively, as if afraid to let him go.

"Besides, everyone participated of their own free will," Mine added, placing a hand on Tatsumi's shoulder. "You were worth the risk, idiot."

"Both of you were," Akame added. And not just as symbols for the Revolution.

James gave a small smile at that as Apex and Odachi nodded in agreement but remained silent. They had the least connection to Susanoo compared to the rest of the group, so they remained silent, Apex quietly reassuring Chelsea with a gentle squeeze of his hand on hers. Why they were holding hands again, he didn't know, but now wasn't the time to talk about that.

"That's not the point," Tatsumi huffed but made no move to remove Mine's hand.

Najenda sighed, setting down yet another cigarette. "Furthermore... we managed to eliminate a long-standing obstacle when Apex and Seryu killed Great General Budo. We've gained a lot from this mission."

It went without saying that if Seryu hadn't earned everyone's trust back then... she had it now.

"Wait... is that all that matters to you?" Odachi asked, causing everyone to turned to the yellow-eyed teen. Tatsumi, who had been about to say the same thing, fell silent as he saw the brief flash of blue in the Hybrid's gaze. "The mission?"

"You realize this whole thing's been hard on the Boss, too, right?" Leone asked, speaking more to Tatsumi than Odachi but acknowledging both. "She lost Susanoo."

It had taken a while, but James had come to terms with Susanoo's passing. He died protecting us, he thought, squeezing Akame's hand. I can't think of any better way for him to meet his end. Better to die fighting than to rust away as some relic.

"These things happen," Najenda stated, her voice hollow. "It was doing its job as a weapon, that's all."

"Hold on!" Apex protested. "It?"

"Susanoo was more than that," Seryu piped up as she held Koro, her living Imperial Arms, against her chest. "I know that more than anyone."

James, however, understood. She's trying to cope in her own way, he thought. Trying to disconnect herself from Susanoo by thinking of him as an Imperial Arms instead of...

"As the living, it is our responsibility to carry out the wishes of the ones who are gone," Akame stated, breaking the silence.

"So basically, quit moping, so we can finally finish this fight," Mine ordered, punching Tatsumi in the arm, but her voice had a light crack to it.