Tatsumi woke up, his face somber.
Last night's dream reminded him of that warehouse, and Sayo's body hanging from chains. It wasn't a pleasant memory.
Tatsumi clenched his fists; the dead were gone, and all he could do now was seek revenge and contribute his strength to building a new nation.
Regaining his composure, he noticed Sheele dozing off right beside the bed. Sensing movement, Sheele woke up as well.
"It looks like I'll be training Tatsumi. Let's give it our all."
"You're quite enthusiastic."
The glasses on her face slipped off, sliding onto the bed. She innocently rubbed her eyes, unaware, and bowed her sleepy face to a wooden statue Tatsumi had placed on the bedside table.
"Good morning! Oh?"
"My glasses! My glasses!"
Sheele flailed her arms in a panic, leaving Tatsumi stunned. He couldn't understand how a cold-blooded assassin could act so "clumsy."
He recalled the book "100 Ways to Cure an Idiot" from when he first met Sheele. Was she trying to cure herself?
"Good morning."
Having retrieved her glasses and regained her usual calm, Sheele smiled and greeted Tatsumi.
...
The Night Raid kitchen.
"I wonder, is it really okay to leave Sheele in charge?"
Lubbock used a fork to spear a slice of apple from a fruit tray and put it in his mouth. Sheele was kind, but whenever she touched anything other than assassination, the results were disastrous. Lubbock himself had some unpleasant memories.
Najenda picked up a whole apple and ate it, her face showing no concern at all.
"I think it will be fine. Besides, they've probably already started."
"What makes you say that, Boss?"
"Tatsumi will have an even more experienced teacher."
"Yes, I'll call it child's play when I'm training him!"
"See? This is even a skill."
Leone was incredibly excited, her movements causing her chest to bounce, which made Lubbock's eyes dart around frantically. Then, an explosion of jealousy made him scratch his head and shout at the sky.
"What the hell?!! This is so unfair!!"
"The more experience you have as an assassin, the better you are at attracting girls."
"How's that? Isn't that a great line?"
Both Lubbock and Leone went silent, increasing the distance between themselves and Najenda. They wondered what was wrong with the Boss today.
At that moment, Akame entered wearing an apron. She announced that lunch would be "Mabo Tofu" on a beef bowl. Lubbock grimaced—why couldn't the tofu and beef be separate? But his opinion was mercilessly suppressed by the other two.
"I think we should put some fried chicken on top too."
"Isn't that too much meat? I think..."
"Sounds great!"
"Sounds great!"
His opinion was once again mercilessly crushed. Lubbock could only accept it. The women of Night Raid were truly carnivores.
Tatsumi's training location today was a river. Not only did he have to wear heavy armor, but he also had to swim against the current to a designated spot. This exercise was meant to build physical strength and endurance.
On the edge of a cliff, a hand reached up from below, gripping the edge tightly. Both Tatsumi and his armor were soaking wet as he pulled himself onto the shore. He lay on the ground, panting heavily.
"You've gotten better at swimming in that armor."
Sheele sat nearby observing, clapping to encourage him. Tatsumi managed a smile as he struggled to stand, removing the pieces of armor one by one.
"It's heavy and stiff too."
"Training diligently is an important principle in assassin training. Since I don't have any duties at the base, I can focus on training you, Tatsumi."
"Why don't you have any duties?"
Sheele's expression suddenly froze. She lowered her face slightly in embarrassment and spoke hesitantly.
"When cooking, I burned the meat and made Akame angry."
"And when cleaning, I only made things more chaotic and created more work for Bulat."
"Not to mention when shopping, I confused sugar with salt, which made Leone laugh at me endlessly. She even asked how on earth I managed to confuse fifty bags."
"While doing laundry... I accidentally washed Mine."
"I... I see..."
Tatsumi really wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare do that to this poor senior. Sheele bowed her head to apologize, accidentally dropping her glasses, and after a moment of fumbling on the ground, he didn't know what to say.
Luckily, she wasn't clumsy during training; otherwise, he would be the first Night Raid member to die during the training process.
"So why did you choose this job, Sheele?"
"It's quite a long story."
"I grew up in the center of the Capital. Ever since I was a child, I was very clumsy, always breaking things. You could say that in my life, I had nothing to be proud of."
"Everyone around me always said my brain had a problem, that a screw in my head was loose. However, there was one person who was very kind to me. She didn't mock me or care about the mistakes I made. That time was truly happy."
"Until one day, a man appeared at her doorstep. He was her ex-boyfriend, furious because she had broken up with him. He became violent and strangled her until she couldn't breathe. He was high on drugs."
"At that time, I was there too. I told myself I had to save her. I took out a kitchen knife and cut the ex-boyfriend's throat."
"Fresh blood sprayed onto my face, but I was strangely calm at that moment."
"The case was considered justifiable self-defense, so there were no charges. But that friend disappeared; I never saw her again."
"A few days later, the man's friends came for revenge. They killed my parents and then came for me. Then, I killed all of them with that same kitchen knife from that day."
"That was also when I realized that the loose screw in my head had turned me into a talented assassin. I could clean up the trash of this society, like her ex-boyfriend and his friends. For the first time... I felt useful."
"After working as a freelance assassin in the Capital for a while, I joined Night Raid."
Tatsumi remained silent. Everyone in Night Raid had a tragic past. He was different; although he had gone through a painful event, his childhood had been peaceful and beautiful.
"I wonder... if I can be an assassin like you guys?"
"Don't worry, Tatsumi. Unlike me, you're a very good cook."
"That's not what I meant..."
...
"The slums are quite lively, aren't they?"
"That's the spirit of the poor. If you were born into poverty, you would learn how to survive and become stronger."
Leone and Tatsumi were assigned a mission to take down a criminal gang in the red-light district. Mine and Sheele had a similar mission but in a different area. Since it was only afternoon and several hours remained before the time for action, Leone led Tatsumi to explore the slums.
"Hello, Leone."
"Remember to come and massage my shoulders."
"How about a drink tonight, Leone?"
"Leone, come play with me."
He was surprised by Leone's popularity with the residents here. Shortly after, she mentioned she grew up in this place. However, as she was talking about her massage skills, a shout echoed from a distance.
"It's Leone! She's over there!!"
"I'll make you pay back the liquor money!"
"Pay back your gambling money too!"
Leone didn't look back but immediately took off running. She left Tatsumi standing there, stunned like a statue. Only when the crowd was nearly upon him did he react, running as fast as his legs could carry him.
"What do you think? This place is quite fun, isn't it?"
"Fun my foot! I think we're going to be slaughtered here!"