Mine x reader. Akame ga kill, Alternative.

Chapter 32 - The other half

The sun began to fall over the horizon, cascading colors of orange and red across the sky. The wind blew around us and caused leaves to fall down to the ground. 

I stood and faced Benjamin with the katana he gave me drawn. He had his bow drawn out and faced me as well. 

The only sound we heard around us was the wind blowing and the crunching of leaves under our feet as we adjusted our footing. 

In one moment, the battle started. Benjamin brought up his bow and drew back an arrow. I gripped the white katana and dashed forward at the same time. 

There were about ten feet of space between us. Benjamin aimed carefully. This fight would be over in an instant. Either his arrow would hit, and I would be bombarded by dozens of invisible shots, or my sword would make contact first and kill him, just like that. 

Benjamin knew this and aimed very slowly and carefully as a result. He didn't let his arrow fly instantly as I dashed at him. Seeing this, I made a spur of the moment decision to start moving in sporadic patterns, serpentining as I ran close.  Benjamin kept his bow trained on me as I moved around. This was the steadiest I'd ever seen his aim. He tried to lead his shot a bit as well. 

He had a focused look in his eyes; we both did at that moment. It was the definition of life or death. Either I dodged his shot, or I die. 

I eyed him down as I dashed around. There were no more than 5 feet between us now. He would need to fire soon. At least, that's what I thought. 

Apparently, though, he didn't think the same. He continued to keep his bow trained on me as I moved. I would need to feint attack him if I wanted to finish this. 

I dashed forward and brought my katana up. I was moving in a straight line at Benjamin. His pupils contracted and he loosed his arrow. Had I been actually going for an attack, the arrow would have certainly made contact with me and I would have died. But luckily, that wasn't what I was going for. 

Without actually reacting to the arrow, I timed a dodge and rolled out of the way. His arrow went flying past me somewhere into the forest. That was that. 

I pushed off my back foot and rushed at him, impaling him on my katana. It pierced his chest as I gave him a fatal wound. 

"Farewell, my other half," I muttered, before drawing my katana out of him. Then, in one swift movement, I slashed the blade along his neck. His severed head fell softly to the leaves below. The ground and my blade were stained with his blood. I flicked my wrist to get the red substance off of the weapon, before picking up the white sheathe off the ground and putting the sword away. 

The entire fight lasted no more than ten seconds. 

Slowly, Night Raid exited out of the cabin and stared at the scene before them. Benjamin's body lay lifelessly on the ground with his head not far from it. 

"(F/n)? Are you ok?" Mine asked, coming close to me first. 

"Yeah. I'm fine. But... I feel like Benjamin deserved something better. It was like... he died so fast." I said, looking to the ground. 

"He died fast, though. I'd say it was mostly painless for him." Najenda said behind us. I turned over and looked up at her. "You're an assassin. Your first job is to kill your targets. Your second job is to make it quick." 

"...Right..." I said, somewhat deep in thought. I turned down to Mine who was closed to me and looked a bit worried. We had been through quite a bit these past few days, her moreso than me. I reached my hand up and placed it on top of her head, gently petting it. She blushed heavily but didn't stop me at all. It was a comforting and relaxing moment. 

We'd have more to do in the coming days. However, with Benjamin dead and Mine as my new Imperial Arms, in a way, I was at a turning point in my long life. I could only stand there, almost stunned at the thought of what the future would hold for us. 

But now would be a time of rest, no matter how short-lived. The true battle would start from here.